Brazil struggled hard to crack the Costa Rican wall named Keylor Navas with goals from Philippe Coutinho and Neymar in the dying moments of the match at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on Friday night (June 22). With a 2-0 win, Brazil stay afloat in the race to reach the last-16 of FIFA World Cup 2018, while Costa Rica bid adieu.

The win was indeed emotional for Brazil who had enjoyed the victory after last three consecutive failed attempts in World Cup history, but more so for Neymar who shrugged off his goal drought. And he answered his critics with an emotional post. After Coutinho’s tap-in from close range seconds into the injury time, Neymar drifted in the curler from Gabriel Jesus five minutes later to double the lead. It was his fifth World Cup goal in seven appearances and he also managed to surpass Brazilian legend Romario to stand third in their all-time list of goalscorers. Like Lionel Messi, pressure and hopes both rested on Neymar’s shoulders. He will remain the central figure for the fans despite them along with critics denouncing him repeatedly after each failure.

‘Not everyone knows what I went through to get here,’ he posted on Twitter and Instagram. ‘Even parrots can talk, but walking the walk... not everyone does it. I cried out of happiness, overcoming, grit and desire to win. ‘Things were never easy in my life, so why would they be now? The dream - no, the OBJECTIVE - is still alive. Congratulations for the performance, guys.’

Coach Tite warned Brazilian fans not to put too much pressure on the 26-year-old, who is playing his fourth game for Brazil after the foot injury in February.

‘The joy, the satisfaction, and the pride of representing the Brazilian national team is a lot,’ Tite told reporters. He has the responsibility, the joy, the pressure and the courage to show it. We each show it in our own way.’’He was three-and-a-half months out (with injury) and he played the full match,’ Tite added.

Nem todos sabem o q passei pra chegar até aqui,falar até papagaio fala, agora fazer...O choro é de alegria, de superação, de garra.
Na minha vida as coisas nunca foram fáceis, não seria agora né! O sonho continua, sonho não, OBJETIVO!
Parabéns pela partida rapaziada,vcs são FODA pic.twitter.com/dgdtK2zKei

— Neymar Jr (@neymarjr) June 22, 2018

‘He is a human being, he needs time to reach his high standards again but before that there is a team that needs to be strong and not dependent on him. Is he going to be back to his best? Yes, he is going to be back to his best.’