Brazil strikes late to top Costa Rica
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — After more than 90 minutes of aggravation and exasperation, Brazil finally broke through Costa Rica’s smothering defense.
Philippe Coutinho scored in the first minute of stoppage time, and Neymar followed six minutes later to give Brazil a 2-0 victory over Costa Rica on Friday at the World Cup.
Brazil has four points in the Group E standings and is tied with Switzerland for first, putting the five-time tournament champion in good position to advance to the round of 16. Costa Rica has been eliminated from contention for a spot in the knockout stage.
“The responsibility is huge when you are playing for the national team,” Coutinho said. “You have to be mentally strong from the beginning until the end. We fought until the end, and we were rewarded.”
Neymar dropped to his knees after the final whistle, sobbing in his hands as his teammates surrounded him and then lifted him off the ground.
“We know he had a difficult injury — he went through a very bad patch,” Coutinho said through a translator, referring to Neymar breaking a bone in his right foot four months ago. “But his joy at being on the pitch is contagious.”
A few minutes before the end, Neymar flopped backward to initially draw a penalty on Costa Rica, but the contact was so exaggerated the referee reversed the call after using video review. Neymar then angrily punched the ball a short time later as Costa Rica’s players tried to waste time. It earned Brazil’s biggest star a yellow card.
“The joy, the satisfaction and the pride of representing the national team is a lot,” Brazil coach Tite said, defending
Neymar. “He has the responsibility, the pressure. Everyone shows it in their own way.”
Neymar seemed panicked for most of the second half as his shots sailed over the bar or simply missed the mark, and he complained about nearly every call. With the match in danger of ending in a draw, the Brazilians seemed nervous but composed themselves through the seven minutes of injury time.
Coutinho was first to get the ball past goalkeeper Keylor Navas. Rising superbly to meet a header from Marcelo’s cross, Roberto Firmino nodded the ball down to striker Gabriel Jesus, who then flicked it to a sprinting Coutinho in the penalty area. In the seventh minute of stoppage time, Douglas Costa whipped in a cross from the right, and Neymar deftly tapped it into the net.
Both Firmino and Costa had come on as substitutes in the second half.
“I think Brazil’s changes made an impact,” Costa Rica coach Oscar Ramirez said. “It became very difficult for us.”
The match between Brazil and Serbia in Moscow on Wednesday could determine which teams finish first and second in Group E. Costa Rica will play Switzerland on Wednesday in Nizhny Novgorod in their final group match.
› Nigeria 2, Iceland 0 VOLGOGRAD, Russia — Ahmed Musa gave Nigeria its first win at this year’s World Cup. He also gave Argentina a gift.
Musa’s second-half goals pushed the Nigerians into second place in the Group D standings behind Croatia, which already has qualified for the knockout stage with six points.
Nigeria, which has three points, will face Argentina in its final group match Tuesday in St. Petersburg. If Nigeria wins, it will advance to the round of 16. But if Argentina wins, it can still advance depending on the result of the other match between Croatia and Iceland. Argentina and Iceland have one point apiece.
Musa, Nigeria’s all-time leading World Cup scorer with four goals, has played well against Argentina before. His two previous goals came at the 2014 tournament in Brazil in a group match against the two-time champions.
“It’s possible I’m going to score another two goals,” said Musa, 25, who scored Friday in the 49th minute on Victor Moses’ cross and again in the 75th minute.
Iceland, the smallest nation ever to compete in the World Cup, was not as effective as it had been in last week’s 1-1 draw against Argentina.
› Switzerland 2, Serbia 1 KALININGRAD, Russia — Switzerland produced the first comeback victory of this year’s tournament when Xherdan Shaqiri ran past Serbia’s defense to score during stoppage time and give his country life in the Group E standings.
Serbia’s Aleksandar Mitrovic scored on a header in the fifth minute, and Granit Xhaka had the tying goal in the 52nd minute with a powerful shot through a crowded penalty area.
Serbia had chances to score more before halftime. Aleksander Mitrovic came close in the 19th minute when he controlled a cross from Branislav Ivanovic on his chest and sent a bicycle kick over the bar.
Shaqiri’s runs down the wings were a continual threat to Serbia’s defense, and the Swiss midfield recovered after a shaky start to dominate the same way it did against Brazil in its tournament opener.
Mitrovic was a handful for Switzerland with his strong physical presence close to the goal. The decision to put two defenders on him paid off in the second half, though Serbia had a strong appeal for a penalty when two defenders appeared to wrestle Mitrovic to the ground as he tried to head a cross.