Brazil vs Costa Rica: Striker Samba wins to regain honor

The Brazilian team played enthusiastically in friendly matches before the 2018 World Cup. They won wherever they played and all with very good results.

Brazil's playing style in friendly matches is also very flexible and frustrating, scoring 2-3 goals against the opponent is considered easy.

However, the painful stumble when being held to a 1-1 draw with Switzerland in the opening match poured very cold water on fans as well as the Brazilian players and especially the expensive star - who had high expectations for Neymar.

In that match, Neymar almost disappeared and played extremely poorly, making expectations of him a huge disappointment. Playing ineffectively and still having an injury in the match against Costa Rica, Neymar may not play.

Without Neymar, Brazil still has many other options that can be implemented and is still considered stronger than Costa Rica. Coutinho is likely to be promoted to the striker position, Fernandinho and Augusto will move into the central midfield position.

On the other side of the front line, Costa Rica is considered effective with their counter-attacking defense tactics. Although they lost in the opening match, their opponents also had to work very hard to penetrate the dense defense. The goal was only conceded when Kolarov successfully executed an unstoppable masterpiece.

Costa Rica understands that only by getting points against Brazil can they ensure their continued presence at the 2018 World Cup and reach the group stage. If they lose, they will have a ticket to become the next candidate to return home early. Therefore, coach Oscar Ramirez and his team will certainly not give Brazil an easy match.

In terms of head-to-head record, Brazil have never lost to Costa Rica in their last 5 matches. However, in the 2018 World Cup, the underdog teams are showing excellent performances against the big guys. Therefore, any miracle can happen.