By Valentine Amanze (with agency report)
Philippe Coutinho and Neymar scored in injury time as Brazil beat Costa Rica 2-0 to edge towards the last 16 of the World Cup on Friday despite another unconvincing performance at Saint Petersburg.
Having been frustrated for almost the entire game, Coutinho poked the ball past Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas one minute into stoppage time before Neymar’s volley wrapped up the points for a relieved Brazil.
Brazil had more of the possession and more of the shots in the first half but they could not turn their dominance into goals.
Gabriel Jesus had the ball in the net after 26 minutes but it was correctly ruled out for offside.
Both Philippe Coutinho and Marcelo had long-range shots that whizzed off target, while Celso Borges shot wide from eight metres out for Costa Rica in what was perhaps the best chance of the game.
Neymar started Brazil’s crunch World Cup clash with Costa Rica on Friday as coach Tite kept faith in the side that started a disappointing 1-1 draw to open their campaign against Switzerland.
