By Diyar Guldogan
ANKARA (AA) – Brazil beat Costa Rica 2-0 in 2018 FIFA World Cup Group E match at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on Friday afternoon.
Brazil's Philippe Coutinho was the hero for his team as he scored in the injury time to give Brazil their first win in the tournament.
Neymar Jr added a second goal during a counter-attack in the 97th minute, comforting his team to secure the win.
Five-time champions Brazil's frustration grew in the first half as they missed several chances up front.
In the second half, Brazil increased their pressure to find the leading goal, but they came up short as Gabriel Jesus hits the bar and Philippe Coutinho's follow up shot got deflected inches wide.
Brazil got closer to goal once again in the 79th minute, this time a referee thought Neymar was fouled inside the penalty box. However, he used help from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system and decided no foul and cancelled his initial penalty decision.
Just two minutes after the decision, Neymar and Coutinho were both shown yellow card for their aggressive behavior.
In Group D, Nigeria will take on Iceland at Volgograd Arena at 6 p.m. local time (1500GMT).
A possible victory by Iceland will severely jeopardize 2014 runners-up Argentina's chances to advance to the second round. They were stunned by Croatia 3-0 late Thursday and only got 1 point so far.
The last match of the day will pit Serbia against Switzerland at the Kaliningrad Stadium at 9 p.m. local time (1800GMT).
