World Cup 2018: Brazil 2-0 Costa Rica: 3 key battles that decided the game

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The victory might have taken its sweet time, but Brazil deserve credit for not losing hope

#3 Willian vs Bryan Oviedo

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An unusually poor night for the Chelsea player

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.

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