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Brazil sealed their first win of the 2018 FIFA World Cup after much effort, and a game that seemed like a 0-0 draw for almost the entire duration ended in anti-climactic fashion as they settled for a 2-0 win in their Group D game.
It took everything Brazil had in them to come up with this win, as Philipe Coutinho and Neymar struck from close distance in stoppage time to ensure that another South American team did not face the music.
This loss knocks Costa Rica out of the WC after their previous loss against Serbia, while Brazil will heave a sigh of relief after a hard-fought win. As always, there were a few individual battles that went a long way in deciding the outcome of the fixture. Here's a look at 3 of them:
#1 Neymar vs Johnny Acosta
After getting fouled repeatedly against Switzerland in the opener, and amid rumours that he might not start the game after suffering a training injury, Neymar started in his usual spot and gave hell for the Costa Rica defence.
Unlike the Swiss way of dealing with Neymar through brute force, Costa Rica adopted a more nuanced approach - crowd him with numbers rather than one man doing the job. And for 90 minutes, it looked like they had taken care of it.
A storming run from Douglas Costa on the right proved a little too fast for the tiring players, and it turned out to be a tap-in for Neymar in front of goal. Until then, Neymar was not at his best.
From a chance he definitely could have scored, Neymar chose to dive and try to earn a penalty - which he had almost done if not for VAR. It is one of those things that he has to change about his game if he wants to be the best.
Johnny Acosta, for the most part, kept things under control but 97 minutes of football was a little too much. He was helped immensely by his keeper and Gamboa playing in front of him, but there is only so much you can do.
#2 Coutinho vs Cristian Gamboa
The goal took forever to come, and when it did it was deserved that Coutinho was the one to score. After scoring a trademark screamer against Switzerland, this is Coutinho's second of many to come in the tournament.
Cristian Gamboa was the best player on the Costa Rica team after Keylor Navas, and most of it was dedicated to stopping the pair of Neymar and Coutinho on his side of the pitch. 75 minutes seemed to have drained out every last drop of energy in his body, and he was replaced. In unrelated news, it was after that that Brazil scored.
Coutinho's second goal might not have been as spectacular as his opener, but this got the team two more points. After a poor touch from Jesus off a Firmino header, Coutinho barged into the box and nutmegged Navas to ensure that Brazil did not finish with another draw.
After not being selected for the previous WC, Coutinho has firmly established his resourcefulness for the team and his creativity in attack and will be vital to their future in the cup.
#3 Willian vs Bryan Oviedo
An off-night for the Chelsea midfielder, and for Bryan Oviedo who came up against him as well.
Willian was chosen ahead of Douglas Costa for the game, and while Costa managed to get an assist on the night, Willian's attacking did not lead to as many attacks on the right wing and Brazil opted to operate from the left most of the time.
Willian was dispossessed more (3) than the dribbles he completed (2), and other than his pace and work-rate, he did not have anything going for him. Ovieda, on the other hand, was dribbled past 4 times during the match.
While it is not fair to compare Costa and Willian - seeing as how Costa was playing against a more tired team while Willian did not have that luxury, it will not be surprising if Tite decides to go with Costa in the next game against Serbia.
The Serbians are much more technically sound than Costa Rica, and Costa's natural flair for attacking will make him a more exciting prospect.
