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Brazil 2-0 Costa Rica: 3 things we learned

By Kristofer McCormack

(L-R) Fagner of Brazil, Neymar of Brazil, Roberto Firmino of Brazil, Casemiro of Brazil, Douglas Costa of Brazil during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group E match between Brazil and Costa Rica at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on June 22, 2018 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)
(L-R) Fagner of Brazil, Neymar of Brazil, Roberto Firmino of Brazil, Casemiro of Brazil, Douglas Costa of Brazil during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group E match between Brazil and Costa Rica at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on June 22, 2018 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images) /
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Brazil grabbed a crucial late 2-0 victory over Costa Rica to put their World Cup campaign back on track. Here are three things we learned from the game.

It was a heartbreaking way to exit the World Cup for Costa Rica and the disappointment will only be further compounded by how they lost their opener against Serbia. Two late goals from Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino gave Brazil an important victory and put them on course to reach the round of 16. Here are three things we learned from the match.

Firmino should be starting

Its hard to argue with Tite squad selections, Jesus played much better against Costa Rica than he did against Switzerland, grabbing an assist and only being denied a goal himself by virtue of the crossbar. The manager’s substitution also proved effective as Douglas Costa and Firmino had a big say in Selecao win.  However, one still feels that Jesus is an odd fit up front for this Brazil team.

Jesus scored 20 goals last season, he scored six on the road to Russia, there is no doubting the goalscoring pedigree of the 21-year old however, in a front three including Neymar, the young poacher is expected to accommodate to Brazil’s star man movements, a role he doesn’t seem capable of fulfilling. In Roberto Firmino, Tite has a player who can score goals, but also compliment’s Neymar movement better than Jesus, as he flourished in a similar role alongside Mohamad Salah and Sadio Mane at Liverpool this season.

Though Firmino has been effective coming off the bench for Brazil so far, it would be interesting to see how Jesus would fulfill the role. One feels in game such as the one Selecao just played out against Costa Rica, having an intelligent and efficient forward like Jesus would be much more effective against tired legs rather than Firmino who, despite his goalscoring record, much prefers to connect things up front rather than play the starring attacking role.

Brazil have to stop leaning on Marcelo in attack.

As Neymar continues to rebuild confidence after returning from a long term injury, other key players are stepping up to replace the attacker. On paper, one would think Coutinho has been the key man, considering he is Brazil’s leading goalscorer, however, that hasn’t been the case.

Much of Brazil’s attacking play is focused out wide with much of the attacking play focused around Marcelo. He had the most touches of the ball, most passes and has leads the lineup for balls into the final third despite being Brazil’s left back. It was a similar tale against the Swiss and Marcelo  appears to spend more time in the opposition’s half rather than his own, something that the heat maps back up.

Marcelo has made a name for himself at Real Madrid mainly due to his offensive game, however,  Los Blancos have never asked as much from the full back in attack as Tite’s side have done in their opening two games and Brazil are likely to suffer for their dependence on him when better sides than Costa Rica and Switzerland take advantage of the space Marcelo leaves behind.

Although Marcelo is a wonderful attacking talent, Tite should encourage his team not to rely so heavily on his creativity and perhaps look to the feet of Coutinho rather than the left back.

Next: Russia 2018: The best player on every team at the World Cup

This World Cup has been entertaining despite lack of quality

The 1990 World Cup is fondly remembered by those who watched for its shocks rather than the quality of the football. Sides such as Ireland, Yugoslavia and Cameroon all orchestrated some stunning runs and results in Italy. Nearly 30 years have passed since West Germany won the title in Italy and the Russia World Cup seems set to offer similar surprises. So far we have seen the highly un-fancied  hosts sweep into the knockout rounds, Senegal beating a Polish golden generation, Iran winning just their second game at the tournament ever and Croatia humiliating Argentina on Wednesday. This evening, Iceland could all but end Argentina’s World Cup with a win and reach the knockout rounds in their first ever World Cup.

Costa Rica were very close to joining that bunch, an achievement which have been all the more impressive after their heroics in Brazil four years ago. Though disappoint for the nation, Costa Ricans can be proud that their World Cup fate was ultimately decided by a piece of brilliance and a late winner.

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