Saint Petersburg (Russia) June 22 (IANS) Philippe Coutinho and Neymar Junior scored late in the second half as Brazil ensured their passage to the second round with a hard earned 2-0 win over Costa Rica in a Group E clash of the FIFA World Cup here on Friday.
Both Brazilians struck in the second half added time at the Saint Petersburg Stadium to hand the five-time World Cup winners their first victory in the tournament.
Brazil who were held 1-1 by Switzerland on Sunday now have four points from two matches.
After Friday s loss Costa Rica s chances of advancing are over as they had suffered a 0-1 defeat in their campaign opener against Serbia.
Brazil will have to beat Serbia in their third and last match while Costa Rica will take on Switzerland on June 27.

--IANS kk/ajb