Neymar, Brazil need extra time to solve Costa Rica’s defense

After more than 90 minutes of aggravation and exasperation, Neymar and 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, giving Brazil a 2-0 victory Friday at the World Cup in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Unlike Argentina and Lionel Messi, Brazil remains in good position to advance to the round of 16. Costa Rica has been eliminated.

“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, referring to Neymar breaking a bone in his right foot four months ago. “But his joy at being on the pitch is contagious.”

In Brazil’s opening 1-1 draw against Switzerland, Neymar was fouled 10 times, sometimes harshly. But he was also in theatrical mode against Costa Rica, tumbling over dramatically when touched.

Switzerland 2, Serbia 1:

At Kaliningrad, Russia, Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri scored for Switzerland with each making a nationalist symbol to their ethnic Albanian heritage after their goals.

Each put hands together with thumbs locked and fingers outstretched to make what looks like the double-headed eagle displayed on Albania’s national flag. The thumbs represent the heads of the two eagles, while the fingers look like the feathers.

The gestures are likely to inflame tensions among Serb nationalists and ethnic Albanians.

Shaqiri was born in Kosovo, the former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008. Serbia doesn’t recognize Kosovo’s independence and relations between the two countries remain tense.

Aleksandar Mitrovic scored for Serbia with a header in the fifth minute.

At Volgograd, Russia, Ahmed Musa scored twice, giving Nigeria its first victory in this year’s tournament. Nigeria moved into second place in Group D behind already-qualified Croatia.

Nigeria will face Argentina in its final group match on Tuesday in St. Petersburg. If Nigeria wins, it will advance to the round of 16. But if Argentina claims all three points, it can still advance depending on the result of the other match between Croatia and Iceland.

Nigeria 2, Iceland 0: