The next game of the day is Nigeria v Iceland in Group D. Barry Glendenning has live coverage here. That’s all from me on this live blog. Thanks for reading and emailing. Bye.
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Oh Steve!
Tite’s fall came because Ederson accidentally pushed him in the back. Let’s go to VAR to see if it was a dive.
ITV’s pictures show that Neymar had a word with Bjorn Kuipers in the tunnel at half-time. The Dutch referee told him to do one and eventually booked the Brazilian for dissent in the second half.
If anything sums up Brazil’s performance, it’s Tite falling over and doing a terrible somersault after Coutinho’s goal. It was a messy offering. They were better in the second half, though, and created more than enough chances. It’s something for them to build on and they will be tough to stop if they develop more cohesion. Whether that’s possible is likely to be down to Neymar, who will probably get some flak for breaking down in tears after a late win over Costa Rica. He was maddening at times today but it’s to his credit that he never stopped trying and he got his goal in the end. Teams will continue to target him, though, and it’s difficult to know if this is going to have a happy ending. The way Neymar behaved with Bjorn Kuipers, the referee, isn’t a good sign.
Get your match report here!
Brazil go top of Group E with four points after two games – Serbia and Switzerland meet at 7pm BST this evening. Costa Rica are out after losing their first two matches. They put up a spirited fight and defended so well, but ultimately they’ve shown nothing in attack in either of their outings and won’t be missed.
Full-time: Brazil 2-0 Costa Rica
That’s your lot! Costa Rica are out, Neymar is in tears, Brazil have their first win of the 2018 World Cup! But didn’t they make hard work of it?
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With Costa Rica absolutely knackered, Casmeiro released Costa on the right. He played it across for Neymar to volley into an empty net! Cue bedlam.
GOAL! Brazil 2-0 Costa Rica (Neymar, 90min+7)
Neymar has the last word. It’s all over.
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90 min+6: Marcelo’s cross is put behind for a Brazil corner. It’s hard to see Costa Rica equalising. They haven’t had an attack since Coutinho’s goal.
90 min+4: Firmino and Coutinho fans combine on the left, making Liverpool fans feel all nostalgic. Coutinho flicks the ball back to Firmino, who blazes over from close range!
90 min+3: Fernandinho replaces Gabriel Jesus. If Costa Rica can’t score, they’re heading out.
Marcelo sends in a deep cross from the right. Firmino, who has been quiet, heads it back into the middle. Jesus miscontrols but the ball runs loose and Coutinho, just like Steven Gerrard, powers in to stab a shot under Keylor Navas from close range! Brazil have the breakthrough and celebrate with a massive bundle in the corner.
GOAL! Brazil 1-0 Costa Rica (Coutinho, 90 min+1)
Never mind Neymar, Coutinho is Brazil’s man.
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90 min: There will be a minimum of six added minutes.
89 min: Neymar crosses. Navas punches. Then he goes down. Play’s stopped again. The Brazilian fans howl.
88 min: Neymar collides with Duerte, who goes down clutching his head. It’s a Brazil free-kick. Play’s delayed. Marcelo clashes with Acosta, who falls over as well. Neymar’s annoyed. He needs to be careful not to pick up a second booking.
87 min: Costa tees up Casemiro, who slides a shot straight at Navas from 25 yards.
86 min: Costa knocks a pass to Casemiro, who finds Jesus in the area. The striker’s crowded out by three Costa Rica defenders.
85 min: Coutinho curls a shot straight at Navas from 30 yards.
84 min: Yeltsin Tejeda replaces Guzman. Costa Rica have used up all their changes and they’re wasting a lot of time. Acosta’s booked for taking too long over a throw.
83 min: Another replay of the penalty decision shows it was a pretty ridiculous dive from Neymar, who threw himself backwards when Gonzalez’s arm was no longer on his body.
82 min: I think Coutinho was also booked for dissent. This is great entertainment. It’s been a wild ride of a second half. Costa Rica aren’t out of the woods yet. I still think Brazil will push through.
81 min: Acosta goes down injured. Play’s delayed. Neymar, still furious, throws the ball to the ground in a moment of petulance and finally picks up the booking for dissent that’s been coming since the first whistle.
80 min: And to think some people don’t enjoy VAR.
PENALTY WIPED OUT!
79 min: Bjorn Kuipers runs to the side of the pitch, has a look at the screen, runs back to the Costa Rica area and overturns his decision! He’s decided that there wasn’t sufficient contact on Neymar! Brazil can’t believe it. Neymar’s day gets worse.
VAR CHECK!
79 min: It was a very soft fall from Neymar. There wasn’t loads of contact from Gonzalez. The referee is having a look.
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PENALTY TO BRAZIL!
78 min: Brazil power through the middle. Costa finds Jesus, who shuffles the ball to Neymar. He’s clear on the left but he decides to try one more trick and cut back inside. Gonzalez leans in, puts his arm on Neymar and a penalty’s awarded!
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77 min: Coutinho spins a cross into the middle. There’s Navas.
76 min: Neymar meets Acosta for the first time. He tries to slither a shot through the defender’s legs and into the far corner, but Acosta deflects it wide.
75 min: Francisco Calvo replaces Christian Gamboa, who relished his battle with Neymar. Acosta moves to right wing-back.
72 min: Brazil break and Coutinho tries to release Jesus. Gamboa steps in but his intervention inadvertently sends Neymar away. He zips inside, opens up his body and curls the ball high and wide from 20 yards, with only Navas to beat.
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70 min: Casemiro’s cross from the right is deflected behind for another corner. Neymar takes it and Casemiro heads straight at Navas.
69 min: Neymar surges into the area from the right, but Oviedo tackles him at the expense of the corner. Thiago Silva meets Neymar’s corner with a diving header, but it amounts to nothing.
68 min: Bryan Ruiz chips a cross into the middle. Brazil don’t deal with it properly and Venegas heads it back into the middle from the left. Miranda heads it away from Bolanos. Moments later Firmino replaces Paulinho.
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67 min: Roberto Firmino will be on soon.
64 min: Neymar’s shot from 20 yards is straight at Navas.
61 min: A Costa Rica attack breaks down and Neymar has acres of space in which to roam on the left. He tries to release Costa on the left. The winger can’t control the pass and has to retrieve the ball on the right. Once he’s done that, he finds Jesus, who sees his shot blocked.
60 min: Bolanos hits the first man with his corner.
59 min: Bolanos runs down the right and wins a corner off Marcelo.
58 min: Costa dribbles down the right and threads a pass into the area for Jesus, who instantly touches it back to Coutinho. The Brazilian clips a shot straight at Navas from the edge of the area.
57 min: Costa Rica counter attack, with Brazil outnumbered, but a poor touch from Bolanos allows Miranda to make a tackle. What a waste.
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56 min: Paulinho sticks a cross into the area from the right. Neymar skips on to the ball and clips it goalwards from 12 yards, but Navas superbly tips it over! How much longer can Costa Rica hold out?
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54 min: A replay of that Coutinho chance shows it was actually turned wide by Gamboa. Costa Rica make their first change. Bolanos replaces Urena.
52 min: Costa Rica finally relieve some pressure and acquaint themselves with the Brazil half. Not for long, though. Brazil soon retrieve possession. There’s a different feel to this game already.
50 min: The rebound from Jesus’s header eludes Paulinho but still Brazil probe. The ball’s put back into the Costa Rica area. It breaks to Coutinho, who has space 15 yards from goal. He looks certain to score - but Navas diverts the ball wide with his legs!
49 min: This is so much better from Brazil. They attack down the right and the ball’s stuck into the middle. Jesus rises and his header thuds against the face of the bar, with Navas beaten!
48 min: Jesus turns a pass into the area, looking for Paulinho. Oviedo, facing his own goal, is there to cover. But he gets himself in a tangle and passes the ball back to Navas, who was only a few yards away. The goalkeeper has to rush and hack the ball clear in a panic. The ball’s chipped back into the middle and Neymar almost profits at the far post. Unable to bundle it in, he ends up fouling Navas.
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47 min: “It occurs to me that none of the favourites at this World Cup have yet put together anything close to a convincing 90 minutes,” Peter Ormerod says. “Can’t work out if that’s because the ‘lesser’ teams have been better than expected or because the ‘bigger’ teams may not be quite the soccering superheroes they’re hyped up to be. I know a lot of the favourites have played only one match, but still. Hmm.”
It’s becoming clear that we could see a new winner – a Portugal, a Croatia, a Belgium. Or maybe Germany will just win it.
46 min: Brazil get the second half underway. Tite shared my opinion of Willian’s performance. The winger has been replaced by Juventus’s Douglas Costa. “I’m actually quite enjoying seeing referees be a bit more lenient on the odd heavy challenge going in during this World Cup,” Oliver says. “Feels like a bit of a throwback, a bit more like watching Proper Football rather than whatever the modern game has become where referees are supposed to ‘protect’ players, like they’re precious china rather than actual humans who can take a bit of rough and tumble.”
@JacobSteinberg I didn't know the Mrtn Skrtl School of Robust Defending had opened franchises. The Tunisian and Costa Rican branches have some outstanding graduates.
— Hubert O'Hearn (@BTBReviews) June 22, 2018
Half-time: Brazil 0-0 Costa Rica
And so a disappointing first half comes to an end. Costa Rica will be happy but Brazil’s frustration is palpable. Neymar has to be led away from an angry disagreement with Bjorn Kuipers, the Dutch referee who has given him barely any decisions in the first 45 minutes. This is nicely poised, even if the football has left much to be desired.
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45 min+1: There will be one minute of added time and Costa Rica have a free-kick on the right. Guzman overcooks it.
45 min: Neymar speeds past Gamboa and throws himself over. Goal-kick to Costa Rica. Gamboa urges the referee to book Neymar for a dive.
44 min: Fagner picks out Neymar with a ball from right to left. He falls over and the flag’s up for offside. He looks so far off the pace.
41 min: Marcelo rolls to the right, making space for a shot with a stepover, but his low drive towards the bottom right corner isn’t good enough to beat Navas.
40 min: Willian has been appalling.
39 min: Willian sends in a corner from the right. Paulinho tumbles, claiming he’s been wrestled to the ground by Duarte in the Tunisian style. Nothing doing.
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36 min: Jogo Bullshito.
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34 min: Willian tries to prove Richard McGahey wrong, driving inside from the right, but he blasts over from 20 yards. Back to Neymar. You’ve had your go, Willian. That’s why you aren’t allowed to have the ball. Back in your box.
33 min: “Willian can get a folding chair,” Richard McGahey says. “Get a snack and a cold beverage, watch the game in comfort from his wing while the ball goes down Neymar’s side every time.
31 min: Neymar tricks his way past and falls on the edge of the area. It looks like he’s been scythed down but the referee waves his appeals away. Neymar buries his face in the turf. There’s no point whinging, though. He drags himself to his feet and tests Costa Rica again. He twists and turns on the left, leaving a defender on his backside, but Jesus is offside when Neymar crosses.
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30 min: Coutinho cuts inside from the left, into Coutinho territory, but he bends a right-footed shot over from 25 yards.
29 min: Neymar has decided to start running behind Costa Rica’s defence. It’s having a positive effect. The Costa Ricans look stretched when they have to turn. Simplicity, eh? This time Neymar crosses from the left byline. It’s cleared and Marcelo hammers a shot wide from 20 yards.
27 min: This is more like it from Brazil. Coutinho looks up and hangs a brilliant pass over the Costa Rica defence, releasing Neymar. He’s onside but his first touch is poor, allowing Navas to charge out and block him. The ball trundles away to safety. For the first time, though, Costa Rica are panicking at the back.
26 min: Neymar runs dangerously at Costa Rica on the left. When he’s tackled, the ball runs to Marcelo, whose hopeful shot squirms through to Jesus. He controls and thwacks a shot high past Navas, but the flag’s up for offside. The goal is disallowed. Jesus, who always looks upset, looks especially upset.
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25 min: A cross from Neymar drifts out of play for a goal-kick. There are a few derisive whistles from the crowd.
24 min: This is pretty uninspired from Brazil. Gabriel Jesus isn’t in the game. Neymar is strutting. Coutinho and Willian are quiet and Marcelo has struggled to bound up the left flank. Costa Rica will be delighted with their start.
@JacobSteinberg Is there an @OptaJoe stat that tells us the average number of times per Brazil match the commentator has to say "Neymar goes down" ? #bracrc
— David W (@davecosmos) June 22, 2018
23 min: Another Brazil free-kick. Neymar sends it in again and Thiago Silva heads wide.
20 min: Coutinho, who’s had a quiet start, tries to release Jesus. The pass is too heavy, though, and it runs through to Navas.
19 min: Neymar’s free-kick is a waste. He overhits it this time, allowing Navas to make an easy catch.
18 min: Costa Rica are very physical. They’re roughing up Brazil’s attacking stars. Willian’s the first to be bundled over, then it’s Neymar’s turn again. He’d lobbed the ball over his man, but Venegas raced back to haul Neymar down on the left.
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17 min: Gonzalez heads Neymar’s free-kick away.
16 min: Gamboa clips Neymar’s heels. Free-kick. It has started. Neymar pouts.
15 min: After a decent spell of Costa Rican pressure, Brazil clear their lines, but play’s stopped when Neymar’s clattered by Gonzalez. The forward gingerly walks back into position, wincing a bit.
13 min: Brazil have dozed off a bit, Neymar guilty of giving away a free-kick on the right after taking a heavy touch. Costa Rica attack and Gamboa tears down the right flank, storming past a surprised Marcelo before cutting the ball back into the area. Borges arrives. His eyes light up. This is a wonderful opportunity! But he clips the ball wide of the far post from 12 yards!
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12 min: Casemiro has a nosebleed after being hit in the face by the ball. He wanders to the touchline to get it sorted out. Brazil are down to 10 men momentarily. It isn’t long before Casemiro, a tissue stuffed up his nose, returns to the pitch.
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10 min: The free-kick’s too far to the right for Neymar to shoot. He clips it into the middle and Gonzalez heads the ball clear.
9 min: Willian finds space on the right and sees his cross cut out. Bryan Ruiz tries to dribble away but he loses possession again, Fagner stepping in. Willian sets off again, only to be brought down on the right. Costa Rica are annoyed to see Bjorn Kuipers award Brazil a free-kick.
8 min: Brazil are dominating possession. Is that news? Not really. It’s what we expected. Costa Rica are sitting back and playing on the break.
7 min: Gamboa belts one miles over from 30 yards.
5 min: Urena hares after a sweeping long pass from Bryan Ruiz, but Thiago Silva slides in to tackle Costa Rica’s lone forward.
3 min: Fagner crosses from the right and Jesus almost takes it down. He’s tackled before he can shoot. But Costa Rica are under pressure here. Bryan Ruiz loses the ball in a dangerous position and Coutinho, who needs no invitation to let fly from long range, rams a shot over from 20 yards.
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2 min: “Even though I in the great/tiresome debate of our time I prefer Messi over Ronaldo, I can’t help feeling you are being somewhat generous to Messi in your intro there, implying that the Argentina debacle is everyone’s fault but his,” Shaun Wilkinson says. “I would certainly rather have Higuain, Dybala, Agüero and Di Maria around me than what Portugal have, yet Ronaldo seems to be doing all right. Messi can’t do everything on his own, but seeing as he does seem to pick the squad, the team and decide how they will play, surely he (like Neymar) has to carry the can a bit?”
Portugal have a better team than Argentina, who left Higuain, Dybala and Di Maria on the bench last night. Messi notoriously like the 3-5-2 system used by Sampaoli last night.
Peep! Costa Rica, all in white and kicking from right to left in the first half, get the game underway. Brazil are in their blue away kit. Neymar’s hair is still dyed blond, in case you were wondering. I’ll be sure to blame his hair if he has a bad game. I’m still auditioning for a place in the Proper Football Men club.
We’ve had some anthems. Time for some football.
Here come the teams. We’ll have some anthems and then some football.
One of the stranger things about St Petersburg is that the city never seems to go dark at night. Even weirder is that friends who are there tell me that they’ve been sleeping in rooms without curtains. It’s been a problem for Brazil’s players to get some rest. “Yesterday we stayed up a little late, having some physiotherapy at 1.30 in the morning,” Thiago Silva said. “We were told to turn off our cell phones, so that we could sleep.”
It’s the World Cup Fiver!
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Costa Rica will be out if they make it two defeats from two. Why? Because Brazil would be on four points. Then Serbia and Switzerland meet tonight. Serbia will move to six points with a win and four points with a draw. Switzerland will be on four points if they win. Uh oh! A draw here will keep Costa Rica’s hopes alive, although a win would be better. That’s not asking too much, is it? Even though they trail 9-1 in the head-to-head record and haven’t tasted victory over Brazil since a 3-0 win in Panamerican Championship in 1960. Hmm. History isn’t on their side.
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Brazil make one change to the side that drew with Costa Rica. Fagner replaces the injured Danilo at right-back. Liverpool fans will continue to wonder why Roberto Firmino is on the bench.
Costa Ricaalso also make a solitary change after losing to Serbia. Francisco Calvo makes way for Sunderland legend Bryan Oviedo.
The teams
Brazil: Alisson; Fagner, Silva, Miranda, Marcelo; Casemiro, Paulinho, Coutinho; Willian, Jesus, Neymar.
Costa Rica: Navas; Acosta, Gonzalez, Duarte; Gamboa, Borges, Guzman, Oviedo; Ruiz, Venegas; Urena.
Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Netherlands).
Hello
All that laughter you can hear is coming from Brazil. There’s nothing quite like schadenfreude in football. There’s nothing quite like seeing your greatest rivals collapse in front of the world, especially when those same rivals took great pleasure in riffing on your misery four years ago. For Brazilians who had to suck it up when Argentinians tipped into them after the 7-1 defeat to Germany in 2014, watching Jorge Sampaoli’s chaotic mess of a side fall to Croatia last night must have been pretty enjoyable.
But if Brazil could stop chucking for just a moment - I know, it isn’t easy - they could benefit from absorbing the major lesson of Argentina’s shambles and keep in mind that teams rarely prosper when there is too much reliance on one individual. For Lionel Messi, read Neymar, who is in danger of becoming a problem for his side, albeit in a different way to his former Barcelona team-mate.
When Messi started rubbing his face during the Argentinian anthem, he already wore the fatalistic expression of a man who knew his evening was going to be ruined by Willy Caballero. The players around him simply weren’t good enough - not that Sampaoli’s tactics helped - but Neymar’s genius isn’t compromised by the same dilemma. No, he is the dilemma. Brazil have strength all over the pitch and options off the bench and they believe in their manager, Tite. But while they started impressively in their opening game against Switzerland, taking an early lead thanks to a stunner from Philippe Coutinho, their performance soon descended into self-indulgence and they paid the price when they conceded a soft equaliser in the second half.
Neymar was a big part of that. The PSG forward undoubtedly has the talent and confidence to take this World Cup by the scruff of the neck and deliver a sixth title for Brazil. Yet it won’t happen if he makes it his mission to show us how good he is, which is what happened against Switzerland. There were too many times when Neymar slowed the game to walking pace, taking the fizz out of Brazil’s initially sparkling attacks, and there have been reports of Tite telling his star man to pull his finger out.
Tite has denied that - but there’s no doubt that he’ll want to see a more cohesive and collective performance against Costa Rica, who slumped to an unimpressive 1-0 defeat to Serbia in their opener. The good news is that Neymar has recovered from an ankle injury - he took a lot of rough treatment from the Swiss, who didn’t take kindly to his piss-taking - and is set to start. Which is just as well. Otherwise we might have seen a return of the “Forca Neymar” baseball cap. Brazil, seeking to assert themselves of Group E, could probably do without another emotional meltdown.
Kick off: 1pm BST and 3pm in Russia.
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