SUWON, South Korea -- Any hope that Costa Rica might have harbored of Brazil -- who had already qualified before Thursday's game -- taking it easy on it in Suwon were quickly dispelled in a flurry of early goals in an incident-packed match that eventually ended 5-2, the third straight victory for the new favorite for the World Cup.
Costa Rica's effort was admirable, but this defeat put it level on points with Turkey, which beat China 3-0 and advanced to the final 16 on goal difference. Before the final whistle, the Costa Rica players knew their fate. They had pulled back two goals and given the South Americans arguably their hardest 15-minute spell of the World Cup so far, but in the end it was in vain.
Brazil coach Luis Felipe Scolari admitted that the two goals his team let in would be the focus of some work before the next stage of the competition begins. "Yes, we made some mistakes and we gave some chances away, but we know where the problems lie and we are working on them," he said.