World Cup 2018: 3 major lessons as Brazil beat Costa Rica

The World Cup Group E encounter between Brazil and Costa Rica at Saint-Petersburg Stadium was a nail biter. Costa Rica was superb in defense and kept Brazil relatively quiet in the first half.

Brazil started the game slowly, didn't look convincing early and wasted opportunities by shooting wide or over the bar. In the end, they managed to pull off 2 goals in stoppage time and won the game 2-0.

Brazil came out strong and with more determination to score by bringing on Douglas Costa in place of Willian. The header of Gabriel Jesus hit the bar and Neymar wasted a brilliant opportunity by shooting the ball wide and in the process not even testing Keylor Navas.

Neymar was brought down in the box in the 80th minute and was awarded the penalty by the referee. Being persuaded by the Costa Rican players, he checked the VAR and hence came to the decision that Neymar had overreacted. The decision was overturned and Costa Rica were awarded a free-kick.

The situation of the match changed in the 91st minute when Coutinho made a run inside the Costa Rican box and was provided the ball by Jesus to slot it in for making the score 1-0.

In the 97th minute, Brazil scored again with Neymar tapping the ball in from Douglas Costa's pass.

Having lost 1-0 to Serbia in their first game, Costa Rica with this unfortunate defeat have no chance of reaching the knockout stages.

Let us look at 3 main takeaways from the Brazil vs Costa Rica encounter.

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#3 Costa Rica defended strongly in the first half

Costa Rica - resolute defending

In the first-half Brazil dominated possession and were trying to penetrate the superb Costa Rican defense. Coutinho - the goal-scorer for Brazil in their last match against Switzerland had to see his two shots go over the bar.

Neymar had an excellent opportunity when Coutinho's wonderful through ball found him but was denied by the brilliant goal-keeping skills of Keylor Navas in a one on one situation.

Brazil got into the groove after 30 minutes, and Marcelo who had one shot on target out of his three was their best player in the first-half. The Costa Rican defense were determined not to concede and hence Keylor Navas had little to worry about.

They looked more threatening in their attack than Brazil but were less adventurous going forward and they concentrated more on defense. Costa Rica also did an excellent job of not giving sufficient space to Neymar to create something for Brazil.

#2 VAR played its part

VAR - indicated Neymar dived

The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system has played a major part in many games at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. It has stirred up controversies and has changed crucial decisions in important games. In this game as well, it was used to overturn an important penalty decision.

Neymar was dragged down inside the penalty box by his marker Gonzalez when there were 10 minutes left on the clock.

The referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot. The Costa Rican players were quite frustrated at the referee's decision and persuaded him to check the VAR.

The referee himself went and checked the incident on the screen and came to the conclusion that Neymar had overreacted and hence the referee overturned his decision and gave a free-kick to Costa Rica without giving Neymar a yellow card.

#1 Coutinho and Neymar - Brazil's two heroes

Neymar and Coutinho - clinical duo

Brazil was frustrated by Costa Rica with their stubborn and determined defending. Unfortunately, in the 91st minute, Jesus laid down the ball in the box for Coutinho who had made a surprising run to score Brazil's first goal. It was quick, and for the first time in 90 minutes, the Costa Rican defense was broken.

Having scored a spectacular goal against Switzerland, Coutinho will value this goal against Costa Rica more than the first as this was one of the 2 goals scored in this match which secured Brazil's victory.

Neymar then rectified his mistake which he had committed by overreacting while appealing for a penalty by slotting in from the perfect pass provided by Douglas Costa into the net perfectly with his right foot.

It gave a huge sense of relief to Neymar, and Brazil a 2-0 victory against a devastated Costa Rican side.