Brazil plays poorly, but wins against Costa Rica 1-0.

Despite a performance below par, the Brazilian national team defeated Costa Rica 1-0 on Friday night in San José, the opponent's home ground. The only goal in a game where Brazil created very few chances was scored by Neymar, finishing off a cross from Daniel Alves, the full-back who started on the bench, rested, and only came on in the second half because Fábio was injured.

The pitch, wet from the intermittent rain, hampered the Brazilian team. Not only because Neymar, Lucas, and Ronaldinho, who are fast and skillful, couldn't play, but also because Fábio, Julio Cesar, and Fred left the field with injuries and are now doubtful for Tuesday's game against Mexico in Torreón.

In his eagerness to test players, Mano Menezes made four changes to the team at once. He initially placed the newcomer Fábio on the right, Adriano on the left, and Ralf and Luiz Gustavo in midfield. As a result, the four players who were supposed to support the attacking quartet – the same one from the match against Argentina – were unable to help organize the team as expected.

The trio that was supposed to supply Fred – Neymar, Lucas, and Ronaldinho – also showed great difficulty in creating chances on the pitch, which was heavy with rain in the Costa Rican capital. In fact, the Fluminense striker only had one opportunity to score in the first half. Right in the first minute, he took advantage of a poorly executed offside trap by the opposing defense, found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but shot over the bar.

The first 45 minutes of the game ended there for the Brazilian team. After all, this was Brazil's only shot on goal. Costa Rica tried much more, but also didn't pose much of a threat to Julio Cesar's goal. Their shots almost always went over the bar.

Mano tried to correct the team at halftime, replacing Lucas and Luiz Gustavo with Oscar and Hernanes. This brought the midfield to four players, three of them creative, with Ronaldinho returning to the playmaker role. Clearly, the two substitutions weren't enough initially, as Costa Rica continued to be the more offensive side. Brazil still didn't pose a real threat.

At the 9-minute mark, however, Fábio suffered an injury and had to be substituted, leaving the field disheartened at having missed the chance to prove himself to the national team. Daniel Alves came on in place of the Manchester United player and made the difference. At the 14-minute mark, he crossed from the right, the ball passed Fred, the goalkeeper, but not Neymar, who pushed it into the empty net, scoring his eighth goal for the national team.

The Brazilian team grew stronger and almost scored a second goal in the 26th minute. The play started on the left, with Adriano crossing to Ronaldinho. The Flamengo player received the ball in the area, could have shot, but preferred to cross to Fred, who headed weakly. Navas stretched out to make the save. After the defense cleared, Neymar picked up the rebound, took a placed shot and hit the crossbar.

Shortly after that, Brazil lost Julio Cesar and Fred to muscle pains. Neymar also left, replaced by Hulk. With the young Campbell on the field, Costa Rica remained dangerous, but Jefferson didn't have to make a save. At 39 minutes, Mora was sent off for a hard tackle on Jonas, who had just come on.

CREDITS:

Costa Rica 0 x 1 Brazil

Costa Rica - Navas; Mora, Umaña, Miller and Díaz; Azofeifa, Barrantes (Cubero), Bolaños (Hernandez) and Oviedo (Madrigal); Parks (Campbell) and Saborío. Coach - Jorge Luis Pinto.

Brazil - Julio Cesar (Jefferson); Fábio (Daniel Alves), David Luiz, Thiago Silva and Adriano; Ralf, Luiz Gustavo (Hernanes) and Lucas (Oscar); Neymar (Hulk), Ronaldinho and Fred (Jonas). Coach - Mano Menezes.

Goal - Neymar, at 14 minutes of the second half.

Referee - Walter López (Guatemala).

Yellow cards - Saborío, Azofeifa, Oscar, Daniel Alves and Neymar.

Red card - Mora.

Revenue and audience - Not available.

Location - National Stadium, in San José, Costa Rica.