FIFA World Cup 2018: Brazil coach Tite praises team's grit

Brazil's coach Tite prior the FIFA World Cup 2018 group E preliminary round soccer match between Brazil and Costa Rica in St.Petersburg, Russia, June 22, 2018. EPA-EFE/TOLGA BOZOGLU

St. Petersburg, Russia: Brazil national coach Tite credited his team's perseverance for their 2-0 win against Costa Rica here on Friday in a Group E World Cup match.

Costa Rica kept a clean sheet until stoppage time when Brazil's Philippe Coutinho broke the deadlock with a goal in the 91st minute.

Brazil captain Neymar doubled the advantage six minutes later.

"The most important thing was not to lose hope," Tite said after the match, adding that he told his players that they "would have approximately 95 minutes to try to decide the encounter."

"It is possible that we started the match nervous ... but we played a beautiful second half," Tite said of the Canarinho's first win at the 2018 World Cup, where they opened with a 1-1 draw against Switzerland.

Asked about the use of the Video Assistant Referee technology during the match, which prompted an official to revoke a penalty he had awarded to Neymar, Tite said if he were the official, he would not have changed his decision.

He added, however, that "Brazil does not need any help. We want to be more competitive and win like (we did today)."