Brazil Defeats Costa Rica 2-0 in Friday World Cup Action

Brazil’s Neymar celebrates after scoring late in the match against Costa Rica

It took over 90 minutes of sweat and frustration of Brazil struggling to break through the Costa Rican teams defences, but Brazil managed to pull off the win and give Brazil a 2-0 victory over Costa Rica.

The game went scoreless until stoppage time went into effect. It was then that Brazil’s Philippe Coutinho scored one minute into the stoppage to give Brazil a 1-0 lead. It was only six minutes later when Neymar made it 2-0 and brought an end to Costa Rica’s hopes of a draw.

The resulting loss brought an end to Costa Rica chances and they noe have been eliminated from the tournament and Brazil is a good position to advance to the next round of 16.

Speaking on the responsibility he feels, Philippe Coutinho said,

“The responsibility is huge when you are playing for the national team. You have to be mentally strong from the beginning until the end. We fought until the end and we were rewarded.”

As the final whistle blew, Neymar, who had been struggling due to a broken bone in his foot he suffered several months ago, dropped to his knees crying, only to be lifted by his teammates. For Coutinho, he knew the struggles Neymar was facing and bad path he went through adding that Neymar’s joy is contagious.

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Neymar was frustrated in the final minutes of the match, even going so far as to drop and try to earn Costa Rica a penalty. However, while initially awarded, the challenge saw it overturned. His frustration also showed over Costa Rica wasting time in what resulted in Neymar punching the ball and earning a yellow card.

Speaking on Neymar’s passion and pressure, Brazils Coach Adenor Leonardo Bacch defended his star player saying,

“The joy, the satisfaction and the pride of representing the national team is a lot. He has the responsibility, the pressure. Everyone shows it in their own way.”

Neymar’s actions on the field seemed almost panicked during the second half as all shots he took went wide or over the goalpost. That frustration was seen with the constant complaints on every call as the game looked like it would end in a draw. Neymar and Brazil were nervous but managed to get things together in the final seven minutes of stoppage time.

Philippe Coutinho was first to score for Brazil after he sent the ball past Costa Rica’s Keylor Navas. Coutinho put himself into position as Roberto Firmino passed the ball to Gabriel Jesus, who then sent it to a Coutinho who was on the run. As the injury time was entering its seventh minute, Neymar collected a pass from Douglas Costa and wasted little time putting it into the net to give Brazil the win.

In post-game interviews, Oscar Ramirez, Costa Rica’s coach said,

“I think Brazil’s changes made an impact. It became very difficult for us.”

Neymar has been fouled ten times in the matches played so far. It is clear he is a target, and that was made evident in the Switzerland match. However, the match against Costa Rica saw Neymar being overly dramatic quickly losing sympathy from the referee’s.

Referee Bjorn Kuipers on multiple occasions waved off Neymar’s antics and went as far to flat out ignore him when making a penalty claim against Costa Rica’s Paulinho bumped off Oscar Duarte. This saw other Brazilian players complaining to Kuipers but failed to garner his attention.

Brazil next plays Serbia in Group E, and with four points earned so far, they are in a good position to enter the final 16. As Costa Rica has failed to win and earn any points, they have been eliminated but will play against Switzerland on Wednesday. Those wishing to place bets on the final 16 can look at our list of top rated Canadian sportsbooks for live betting during the World Cup. With some excellent world Cup promotinos up for grabs, the opportunities are ripe and ready to help you bankroll grow. Register today – bet today – win today!

Author Noah is our American writer who likes to give his own spin on everything Golf & the NHL he covers mainly the US side of the game as Doug covers the Canada. In his time off he can usually be taking to the greens or on the ice playing some hockey