Philippe Coutinho spared Neymar from certain ridicule after the Barcelona midfielder scored an injury-time goal to help Brazil see off a resilient Costa Rica side, with the latter eventually making up for an embarrassing overturned penalty to score a second deep into time added on.
For much of the Group E encounter, Brazil were frustrated by Costa Rica’s goalkeeper, Keylor Navas, as the Real Madrid stopper embarked on a one-man resistance job to frustrate the likes of Neymar and Gabriel Jesus.
The game appeared to change though when Brazil were awarded a penalty, as Giancarlo Gonazalex was adjusted to have pulled Neymar back and down to the turf.
However, after a Video Assitant Referee review, Bjorn Kuipers elected to overturn the decision – on that infuriated the Brazilian side.
That looked to send the match to a certain draw, but Coutinho came up trumps once again after his wonder goal against Switzerland last week as he poked home from close range, following good work from Roberto Firmino and Jesus.
Neymar spared his own blushes when he tapped in Douglas Costa’s cross to seal the 2-0 victory.
So how did the players perform? Click on the gallery above to find out.
