World Cup 2018: 3 things we learned as Brazil beat Costa Rica

Brazil managed to stay afloat in the World Cup by beating Costa Rica 2-0 with the help of 2 injury-time goals by Coutinho and Neymar. Coutinho broke the deadlock with an opportunistic strike in the 92nd minute and Neymar increased the tally in the 96th minute.

Before that, Brazil had dominated the game but did not succeed in finding the elusive goal. Gabriel Jesus hit the woodwork with his header and Neymar and Coutinho had their shots saved by Keylor Navas, the Costa Rican goalkeeper.

Just when it seemed that match was veering towards a draw, Coutinho found the net and turned things around.

Brazil now have 4 points from 2 matches. Costa Rica bowed out of the tournament after losing both their matches.

Brazil had around 70 percent ball possession and more than 15 shots on goal. Still they found it very difficult to breach the dour Costa Rican defence led by the formidable Navas.

Here are 3 things we learnt from the match.

#1 Neymar is one of the best players in the world indeed

Neymar was omnipresent in the match against Costa Rica. He cut in from the wings, created moves from the centre of the pitch, fell back to his own half to regain possession and in the end scored.

There was considerable pressure on him to perform and it certainly did not help when his shot missed the goal by a whisker in the 72nd minute. Moreover, he managed to earn a penalty in the 80th minute only for it to be cancelled by VAR.

Still he remained unperturbed and continued his pursuit for the elusive goal. He should have had an assist too, but Gabriel Jesus blasted his pass over the bar.

Neymar finally earned his salvation by tapping in a cross from Douglas Costa in the dying minutes of the game. His performance is an ominous sign for all of Brazil’s prospective opponents.

#2 Coutinho is a brilliant midfielder

After having scored Brazil’s only goal against Switzerland on Sunday, Coutinho again rescued them by scoring the first goal against Costa Rica. Coutinho showed his opportunism by surging into the penalty box and slotting home the opening goal.

He played in central midfield for the majority of the match and created a number of opportunities for the forwards. He also had his shot brilliantly saved by Navas in the first half.

Coutinho played some penetrative long balls to Neymar in the first half. He played a decent through ball to Gabriel Jesus as well, but the youngster could not score from it.

He continued his tireless work in the second half and remained a constant threat to the Costa Rican defence.

#3 Tite’s substitutions were spot on

Tite the Brazilian coach was spot on with his substitutions. He took off Willian and introduced Douglas Costa who proved to be an excellent performer.

Costa succeeded in delivering those much-needed crosses which Willian could not in the first half. Neymar’s goal also came off one his crosses. Moreover, his dribbling and speed troubled the Costa Rican defence to a great extent.

Tite then introduced Firmino in the 68th minute in place of Paulinho and the effect could be immediately seen.

Firmino’s introduction added thrust to the Brazilian attack and he had a shot saved by Navas. He constantly troubled the Costa Rican defenders and created space for other attackers.

After the opening goal was scored, Tite took off Jesus and put in Fernandinho to add muscle to Brazil’s midfield. All his substitutions were timely and effective.