It took more than 90 minutes for Brazil to finally get the goal they needed at the World Cup on Friday, as they avoided going winless through two matches.
Here’s your daily recap of all the action in Russia:
Brazil survives scare from Costa Rica
Overmatched against mighty Brazil, Costa Rica needed to defend as well as they ever have to get a positive result. And they nearly pulled it off.
Holding 66% of possession with 23 shot attempts, compared to just four from Costa Rica, Brazil stared at a nil-nil draw heading into stoppage time.
They wound up winning 2-0.
Philippe Coutinho came to the rescue for the South Americans, scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!#BRA scores what surely will be the winner in stoppage time! #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/UffRgEb9MT
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 22, 2018
Neymar added another, to seal the deal.
NEYMAR CLINCHES #BRA WIN!
Brazil defeats Costa Rica 2-0! #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/P5nZvqPc1f
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 22, 2018
A draw would have put Brazil in a precarious position heading into their final match against Serbia. Instead, they just need to earn a point in their final match to go through.
probably my favorite part of brazil vs costa rica pic.twitter.com/0iCuVS3WrZ
— Ivy (@whyIive) June 22, 2018
Switzerland storms back against Serbia
Switzerland became the first team at this World Cup to win after surrendering the first goal, defeating Serbia 2-1.
Serbia got the start they were looking for, with Aleksandar Mitrovic heading home the opening goal five minutes into the match.
GOAL!
Mitrovic finally finds his form, heading home the opening goal for #SRB #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/572efMjwTK
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 22, 2018
The Swiss answered back in the second half, courtesy of a left-footed thunderbolt from Granit Xhaka (great name, by the way).
LASER-GUIDED!!!ššš
Granit Xhaka sends a rocket into Serbia's net to tie the match at 1-1 #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/ZZoNFv9YVc
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 22, 2018
The match stayed level until Switzerland’s other X-Man, Xherdan Shaqiri (seriously, how great are these names?) got past the Serbian defenders to score the winning goal in the 90th minute.
SWITZERLAND COMPLETES THE COMEBACK!!!
Xherdan Shaqiri scores to give #SUI a 2-1 lead late in the game #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/2Du9AW6Rvd
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 22, 2018
And then he took his shirt off…
"Sir, this kind of behavior is not allowed at Planet Fitness and we're going to have to ask you to leave." #SUI #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/jgwsaEZvm7
— COPA90 US (@COPA90US) June 22, 2018
Switzerland’s in great shape to move on, needing a win or maybe even just a draw against Costa Rica in their next match.
So, Group E…
1) #BRA
2) #SUI
3) #SRB
4) #CRC #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/C01rVGhsSyā FIFA World Cup š (@FIFAWorldCup) June 22, 2018
Nigeria beats Iceland
The well-dressed Nigerians defeated the giant-killers from Iceland 2-0, keeping things interesting in Group D.
Ahmed Musa had both goals for Nigeria, scoring in the 49th and 75th minutes.
2ND SHOT, 1ST GOAL!#NGA opens the scoring to take 1-0 lead over #ISL early in the 2nd half! #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/fjMw1Ase9X
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 22, 2018
ROUND THE KEEPER, THROUGH THE HEART š
Musa keeps his cool & scores a beautiful goal to give #NGA a 2-0 lead over #ISL #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/TCSERCtMJC
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 22, 2018
After VAR awarded a penalty to Iceland, Gylfi Sigurdsson squandered a glorious chance to cut the lead in half, sailing the ball over the net.
Sigurdsson MISSES!ā#ISL fail to capitalize on chance to get back into game, miss penalty, #NGA still leads 2-0 #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/jcDmgO61wo
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 22, 2018
The Nigerian win was helpful for Argentina, as this man illustrates:
š½ | Argentina fan kisses Nigeria fan pic.twitter.com/Qo5JHaUDMx
— DJ Ultrademiks š¦š· (@UltraAutistic) June 22, 2018
Argentina likely now just needs a victory in their final group stage match to advance, depending on how Iceland fares against Croatia.
So, Group D…
Final round of fixtures:#NGA vs #ARG #ISL vs #CRO #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/vtf4k3h56S
— FIFA World Cup š (@FIFAWorldCup) June 22, 2018
Saturday’s games
There’s no shortage of intriguing storylines on Saturday, as we get our second look at the high-flying Belgians when they take on Tunisia. If Mexico can beat South Korea, it would set up a do-or-die scenario for Germany, who would need a positive result to stay alive.
- Belgium vs Tunisia (5 am PT / 8 am ET)
- South Korea vs Mexico (8 am PT / 11 am ET)
- Germany vs Sweden (11 am PT / 2 pm ET)