Brazil's DNA reaps reward

Brazil needed injury-time strikes from Philippe Coutinho and Neymar to bring their World Cup campaign back on track with a 2-0 victory against Costa Rica at the Saint Petersburg Stadium yesterday.

The five-time World champions were heading for a second successive draw after their 1-1 stalemate against Switzerland before Coutinho struck in the 91st minute to break a stubborn Costa Rica defence.

If that goal was a big relief for the Selecao, then the second one from Neymar in the last of the six minutes of injury time was a big statement of a strong second-half display.

Brazil coach Tite took a tumble in the technical area while celebrating after Coutinho stabbed home the ball from close range after a cross from the right by Marcelo. And during the post-match briefing the Brazil coach said that he was a bit surprised by his emotional display.

"I could have pulled a muscle; I was limping a bit after that," The Professor told reporters with a big smile on his face.

Coutinho's goal was the reward of constant pressure from Brazil, who seemed destined for another draw when referee Bjorn Kuipers changed a penalty decision in the 78th minute for a foul against Neymar in the forbidden zone after consulting the VAR. It looked like another heartbreak for Brazil fans despite a dazzling second-half display that Tite termed 'a beautiful half' as Brazil created waves of attack.

The Selecao started the game slowly and failed to make any impact in the first 45 minutes apart from a couple of shots by Marcelo from outside the box which missed the mark.

Tite introduced Douglas Costa for Willian at the start of the second half and then brought in Roberto Firmino to give the attack more bite.

And it proved to be a masterstroke.

Brazil found fluidity in attack and the Costa Rica defence started to crack. Their goalkeeper Keylor Navas fisted away a Neymar scorcher over the bar and Gabriel Jesus's header came off the woodwork before that injury-time Coutinho goal sent Brazilian fans into raucous celebration.

The heartening aspect was that Brazil pressed for more after Coutinho's goal in a situation where most teams would have adopted the ploy of time wasting. But in the six odd minutes, they actually kept possession with some slick passing, enterprising dribbling and Neymar's goal to cap it all.

During the post-match session Tite was confronted by the question of whether Brazil would play for a draw against Serbia. He pointed the audience to the way Brazil had played after scoring the first and emphasised on the fact that 'attacking football is in the DNA of this team'.

Brazil, with four points from two games, are now top of Group E by virtue of a superior goal difference to Switzerland. They will take on Serbia, who lost 2-1 to Switzerland later last night, in their final match on June 27. Serbia won their first game against Costa Rica 1-0.

It was Brazil's 10th win from 11 games against Costa Rica, who almost pulled off a sensational draw against their vastly superior South American neighbours. And, despite the defeat, Costa Rica coach Oscar Ramirez said that he was proud of his boys for holding one of the best teams in the world for 90 minutes.

Player of the match Coutinho said that it was a tough match but the intensity and hunger till the end won them the game.

"It was as tough a game as we expected. We showed the patience and intensity till the end and we were rewarded for that. I'm happy to win the man of the match [award] but happier with the result. It was very important for us," said the Barcelona forward.

He also said that he was happy to see Neymar back and scoring.

"We know that Neymar had a difficult injury and he went through a difficult patch. Everybody is so happy for him being back," said Coutinho.