FIFA World Cup 2018 Highlights: Coutinho, Neymar strike late to give Brazil win against Costa Rica

St Petersburg, June 22: Philippe Coutinho and Neymar struck late as after keeping Brazil at bay for 90 minutes, Costa Rica conceded two goals in six minutes to go down 0-2 in the Group E encounter at the Krestovsky Stadium and crash out of FIFA World Cup 2018 .

As part of leadership rotation policy, it was Thiago Silva, who lead Brazil. The Paris Saint-Germain defender last wore the armband during the 0-1 friendly loss to Argentina, which was the only loss suffered by Tite's Brazil in the last 22 games.

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In the first half, Brazil came to scoring three times in 10 minutes, but they fell into the off-side trap while Costa Rica were happy playing second fiddle. In the second half, Brazil upped the ante, and were finally rewarded just as six minutes of stoppage time started.

The clock had ticked past 90 minutes when Marcelo crossed from the left and substitute Roberto Firmino headed the ball back across goal to Gabriel Jesus.

Jesus's first touch took the ball away from the defender and Coutinho raced in to poke past Keylor Navas from six metres out and claim his second goal of the tournament.

Neymar added the second with practically the last kick of the game, racing on to Jesus's square ball following a quick counter-attack as Costa Rica were forced to push for the equaliser.

The forward, who thought he had won a penalty in the 77th minute only for the referee to reverse the decision after consultation with the video assistant referee (VAR), was overcome by emotion on the whistle, covering his face as tears streamed down his cheeks.

For long periods Costa Rica's flat-back five kept Neymar on the periphery, with Johan Venegas and Cristian Gamboa both man-marking him out of the game as Brazil found it hard to carve out chances in the first half.

Marcelo's tame shot straight at Navas in the 41st minute was the first effort on target from either side before the break, and the team went into halftime with the boos and whistles of their own fans ringing in their ears.

Celso Borges spurned arguably the best chance of the first period for Costa Rica when he ran on to Gamboa's cut back but shot wide from eight metres out.

Costa Rica Team Analysis" title="Brazil Team Analysis | Costa Rica Team Analysis" />Brazil Team Analysis | Costa Rica Team Analysis

It was a must-win game for Brazil to stay alive in the tournament after Switzerland held them 1-1 in their opening encounter. The result leaves the five-time world champions with four points from two games.