Honestly, yea I wish we had more goals and played a bit more dominantly but its still only the group stage. We're allowed some time to figure it out. Haha I didn't want to admit until after the goal what I was doing. I'm a firm believer in the jinx. Especially after years of @omajac 's predictions.
What is Neymar doing?!?! He stressed after sucking it up (mostly) against Costa Rica (No disrespect)?!?! In the group stage?!?!?! On a side note, his gol puts him in front of my personal all time favorite killer... Romario... That was good times, good times...
The 2nd half was the first and only time that we witnessed, during this World Cup, anything resembling the steamroller Brazil that defeated every other CONMEBOL side during qualifying. If we step back a bit, we will remember that we had several close chances that with a bit more luck would have become goals. Gabriel Jesus hit the woodwork once and we were overwhelmingly superior to Costa Rica. At the risk of sounding sarcastic, these players didn't forget how to play soccer, and I still trust Tite and this team. We do miss Daniel Alves, but Fagner (not easy for me to praise a Corinthians player, @Redshift, but credit is due here) did a fine job. The monkey is off our backs, and even if Serbia wins today, we go into the third game with far less pressure. Serbia is good, but not unbeatable, and we can defeat them.
I loved it. (Easy to say now, I know, but I did. Glad it worked - in a way). I have to say, the penalty was the right call (I mean, taking it back) but the ref overall was poor. In a sense, not his fault - because clearly all refs are holding back on yellow cards. But when you card Neymar (correctly) and Coutinho (too rash by the ref) for complaining after zero cards all game, then let Costa Rica kick Douglas Costa (correct advantage but should have given a yellow when it stopped) you've lost the plot. Felt so good to get a second goal. Hoping Tite is the guy who can make something out of the PK call Neymar didn't get and turn it into some positive motivation for him. It's 7am and normally I'd be getting up and going to work in one hour... so glad I took the day off. Too tense.
I am hoping this game settles Gabriel's nerves a bit. He's clearly been nervous these two games with taking heavy touches and sloppy finishes. If he can get into a rhythm, it'll be a good sign for us.
Btw, where is that poster that constantly criticized Coutinho? I believe the exact words were weak, overrated, and sh*t.
I think you are being harsh based off your expectation of him. I'd say Danilo, Paulinho, Willian and GJ has been worse.
I thought he had an excellent game. He was very involved - like he was after he "woke up" in the first game, but for almost 90 minutes here. Solid contribution from subs is huge and I agree with CB, this second half was dominant. Missing a goal (it only came after 45 mins) but absolutely dominant. He has been huge hasn't he? Two goals, but they both came with stellar performances from an offensive player who has been asked to be the one to sacrifice a little more so we can put three players in front of him.
I am very relieved, guys. The important thing today was the 3 points. Tite’s got a lot of work to do, but I think this win will take pressure off the team. I liked that the team didn’t give up until the end, that was the best thing to take out of this game.
Neymar is an attention-whore. I thought the media said Tite and the coaching staff talked to him before the game. He needs to stop playing like a one man team. Its like he wants all the glory for himself.
While I agree, after seeing what happened in the last World Cup, I think I'd rather see it happen in the locker room instead of the pitch.
Me too. But I can't criticize him because I felt the same way just watching that. Imagine playing through it.