The Central Americans looked likely to hold on for a hard-earned draw, particularly after Neymar had a penalty award chalked off by referee Bjorn Kuipers after he consulted the Video Assistant Referee.

But Coutinho and Neymar finally broke through, scoring in the 91st and 97th minutes to put Tite’s side on the brink of the knockout stages.

At the final whistle, Neymar sat down on the grass and wept, with the emotion of victory hitting home after the tense Group E contest at the Saint Petersburg Stadium.

Neymar started despite limping out of training on Tuesday with a hurt ankle, which the Brazilian FA said was sustained as a result of snapping Swiss defenders.

After a ponderous start, Brazil enjoyed a gradual crescendo during the first period but their dominance in possession was not reflected in chances created.

Neymar faced the most devoted of markers in Costa Rica’s Cristian Gamboa, the Brazilian spending most of the half hopping over scything tackles or dodging past a barging shoulder.

It was a compelling battle. One sumputous Neymar flick sent the ball flying over Gamboa’s head and later he made an excellent run onto Coutinho’s pass, only to squander the chance with a heavy touch.

Marcelo, Coutinho and Neymar, however, hardly make for the most conscientious combination out wide and when Johan Venegas ran clear down the right, his pullback should have been converted by Celso Borges, who skewed past the post.

Brazil might have had a penalty when Oscar Duarte blocked Paulinho at a corner and Costa Rica rode their luck again after the break, as Neymar, Gabriel Jesus and Coutinho all went close.

Jesus’s header crashed against the crossbar and after some excellent work by Paulinho, Coutinho’s follow-up hit the ever-present Gamboa on the line.

Neymar fired over from Paulinho’s cutback and Coutinho shot straight at Keylor Navas after, again, Paulinho had teed it up.

With 20 minutes left, Gamboa made his first mistake and Neymar should have capitalised. A sloppy touch allowed the striker to cut inside from the left but his bending finish curved around the outside of the post.

There was more drama to come. With just over 10 minutes left, Neymar’s turn prompted Giancarlo Gonzalez to lose his footing and put his arm across the Brazilian’s chest.

Neymar arched back as if losing his balance before falling to the ground. Kuipers pointed to the spot but after reviewing the video replay, reversed his decision.

Frustration brewed but Costa Rica’s resistance was finally ended in the 91st minute.

Marcelo’s deep cross was kept alive by Roberto Firmino and a loose touch by Jesus dribbled perfectly into Coutinho’s path. Six yards out, he sidefooted home.

Costa Rica conceded again right at the death. Substitute Douglas Costa squared for Neymar to finally find the net.

Brazil’s forward Neymar reacts to their victory

Appearing in her second LET event after missing the cut here 12 months ago, the 20-year-old shot five birdies against a lone bogey for a two-day total of six under-par-138, one behind 24-year-old Carlsson, who shot an unblemished 65, and 19-year-old Del Rosario, who hit a 67.

Fifteen months after turning pro, the Chonburi-based Kanyalak has emerged a contender on the LET for the first time and she said having a pressure-free attitude was the key to her impressive form on Friday.

“My father told me to go out there and enjoy the golf. I did that and it turned out I played well,” said Kanyalak, who has two wins to date: a local Thai LPGA Tour event and one on China’s LPGA Tour.

“I didn’t drive the ball well but my short game really helped me out there especially my putts. I need to fix on my tee shots,” added Kanyalak, who will tee off in the final group of an LET event for the first time this morning.

Lynn Carlsson of Sweden 

“I may get a bit excited but I think I can handle it. I have been playing well over the past six months by finishing in the top 10 in both Thai and China LPGA events. So I’m pretty confident going into the weekend. I want to win for my parents,” added the Thai hope, who shares third place with first-round leader Anne Van Dam of the Netherlands. The latter fired a 71 yesterday.

Filipina Pauline Del Rosario

Instead, defeat by Germany set in motion four years of chaos in the international set-up that has brought one of the great footballing nations to its knees and leaves the South Americans staring at an ignominious early exit in Russia.

Barring an unlikely sequence of results, this gilded generation of players looks like being forever remembered for a succession of bitter defeats.

Argentina’s struggles in Russia should come as no surprise after their pre-tournament preparations were wrecked by controversy and poor form, coupled with a reliance on a top-heavy, limited squad.

They found themselves at the centre of an Israel-Palestinian spat over the cancellation of a World Cup warm-up match following an unconvincing qualifying campaign.

The game against Israel, planned to take place in Jerusalem, was called off after a campaign by the Palestinians following its relocation from the northern city of Haifa.

It meant they arrived in Russia with a 4-0 win against 104th-ranked Haiti in May as their only outing since an ominous 6-1 loss to Spain in March.

Argentina almost failed to qualify for the World Cup in the first place. They were on the brink of missing out on the finals for the first time since 1970 before Messi’s hat-trick against Ecuador dragged them over the line.

– Crisis –

The team have been undermined by a broader crisis afflicting the Argentine game, tangled up with politics and a power struggle in the AFA (Argentine Football Association) management that broke out in 2014.

The AFA was placed under administrative supervision in 2016, days before the Copa America Centenario final, after being hit by corruption allegations and rows over TV rights.

Former AFA head Luis Segura quit after he and six other AFA directors were indicted on suspicion of embezzlement over the distribution of broadcasting revenues.

Worse was to come as Messi abruptly announced his international retirement following a penalty shootout loss to Chile, Argentina’s second Copa America final defeat in two years, citing frustration at the way the game was run in the country.

Former Barcelona boss Gerardo Martino promptly resigned as coach, blaming power squabbles with the AFA, an organisation branded a “mafia” by Diego Maradona, who pointed the finger at its late president, Julio Grondona.

Messi’s future became practically an affair of state when Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri called on him to stay.

“Lionel Messi is the greatest thing we have in Argentina and we must take care of him,” Macri said shortly after the player’s bombshell announcement.

Martino’s replacement, Edgardo Bauza, ultimately helped convince Messi to reverse his decision weeks later, the Barcelona star conceding his “love” of his country was “too great”.

Bauza lasted less than year, jettisoned in April 2017 with Argentina languishing outside the automatic qualification places soon after Claudio Tapia was elected president as part of a leadership shake-up at the AFA.

Jorge Sampaoli, with the blessing of Messi, pleaded for patience as he was drafted in as Argentina’s third coach in two years.

“We are starting a new era, we need to improve and consolidate an idea and that takes time,” Sampaoli said after his appointment.

While an inspirational Messi clinched qualification in the dizzying heights of Quito last October, the obvious faultlines were badly exposed in an embarrassing 3-0 loss to Croatia on Thursday that leaves the team on the brink of a World Cup exit.

“We lost very badly, they really humiliated us this time,” said 22-year-old Joaquin, at a fan zone in Buenos Aires.

“I can’t remember a worse performance from us at a World Cup,” former Argentina defender Pablo Zabaleta, who started the 2014 final, said in his role as a pundit for the BBC.

“Everyone is so angry at home. They were really poor.”

Argentina must now beat Nigeria in their final Group D match and hope other results go their way.

Messi’s failure to match the achievements of Maradona, who single-handedly carried the team to victory in the 1986 World Cup, will otherwise never be forgotten.

“Messi, who keeps winning for Barcelona, who continues to deliver triumph after triumph for Barcelona, has given us nothing but defeats and sadness,” said Miguel Angel Gutierrez, a 50-year-old Argentina supporter in Buenos Aires.//AFP

Whereas in past tournaments teams went to extraordinary lengths to keep the paparazzi at bay, the stars of Russia 2018 have a more high-tech approach to guarding their privacy.

The Australian football federation is one of several to use its own mobile internet connection while in Russia, in theory to make it harder to access information contained on the devices of players and staff.

The Socceroos are forbidden from joining unprotected Wifi networks and must instead connect via one of the team’s own VPN-fitted 4G mobile routers.

Team official Adam Mark told AFP the players had been told “just to be smart about while they’re here, i.e. not logging on to public Wifis.”

“Cybersecurity is something that we are concerned about,” said Croatia team official Tomislav Pacak. “Concerning security in general, we don’t share anything with any media or the public other than what is said during press conferences.”

The anxiety to avoid hacks at this World Cup is so great in some camps that several teams sought advice from their national security services before leaving for Russia.

England were briefed by Britain’s GCHQ intelligence service and players’ smartphones and other connected devices have been fitted with special encryption software for the tournament.

Guillaume Poupard, the head of France’s information security agency Anssi, told AFP his organisation had advised the national team on online safety while in Russia.

“It was rather general advice, a bit like what we tell people travelling for business… pay attention to where you connect, don’t take all your personal data with you,” Poupard said.

– Public at risk? –

While this sounds like good advice no matter where high-profile millionaires such as footballers ply their trade, it is not just the players that may be at risk in Russia, known for the practice of kompromat — gathering compromising personal material for nefarious means.

Russian hacking group Fancy Bear, for example, published emails of the International Olympic Committee in 2014 after Russia was banned from competing in this year’s Pyeongchang Winter Olympics for its doping programme.

Such an attack on tournament organisers FIFA, for example, “would have a significant impact on its image”, according to Chris Hodson, of cybersecurity firm Zscaler.

Yet the most common targets of online hacks and scams remain members of the general public, and Anssi has launched an awareness campaign to coincide with sport’s biggest event.

Cybersecurity firm Checkpoint last week uncovered a phishing campaign, whereby users are tricked into handing over their personal details via fraudulent emails, camouflaged as a World Cup matches wall chart.

“With so much anticipation and hype around the World Cup, cybercriminals are banking on employees being less vigilant in opening unsolicited emails and attachments,” said Checkpoint’s Maya Horowitz.

“As such, it is critical that organisations take steps to remind their employees of security best practices to help prevent these attacks being successful.”

Internet users have been advised to be wary of streaming matches on pirate feeds that may contain malware, and to avoid unofficial ticketing sites.

For Nicola Caproni, consultant at web security firm Sekoia, internet users need to be vigilant but not obsessive over their data during the tournament in Russia.

“Don’t take business data with you, don’t leave your telephone or computer at the hotel, be careful with your devices, don’t just connect to any Wifi hotspot, and use a VPN.”//AFP

Djokovic stepped up his Wimbledon preparations by sweeping into the Queen’s Club quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-1 demolition of Grigor Dimitrov on Thursday.

The 31-year-old needed only 65 minutes to crush world number five Dimitrov and he will face Adrian Mannarino or Julien Benneteau in the last eight after recording the 799th win of his career.

It was Djokovic’s first success against a top 10 player in just over a year and the impressive display suggested he made the right decision to play at Queen’s for the first time since 2010.

But even so, Djokovic doesn’t believe he should be expected to dethrone defending champion Roger Federer at Wimbledon next month.

“Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves too early. I’m definitely not one of the favourites for Wimbledon,” he said.

“Roger is the clear favourite without a doubt. (Rafael) Nadal maybe hasn’t played well at Wimbledon by his standards, but he’s won it several times. He’s definitely one of the candidates to win the title.

“Andy (Murray) and myself if we play well (can be contenders). We dropped in the rankings, but Andy played really well against Nick Kyrgios here.

“He has home support, things can go in a good direction if he plays well at Wimbledon.”

Djokovic’s caution comes as he sits a lowly 22nd in the ATP rankings.

An embarrassing French Open quarter-final defeat against Italian journeyman Marco Cecchinato extended his wretched run in 2018.

Hampered by an elbow injury last year, he has failed to reach the semi-finals in any of his last five Grand Slam appearances.

Djokovic hasn’t earned a major title since competing his career Grand Slam by winning the 2016 French Open.

Dogged by rumours that he no longer has the motivation to return to the top, the 12-time Grand Slam winner decided to start his bid for a fourth Wimbledon crown by accepting a Queen’s wild card.

He claimed his confidence is slowly coming back, as he showed by polishing off Dimitrov with ease.

“It was an important match for me. Obviously I didn’t win too many big matches in the last 12 months,” he said.

“I’m still finding my form. This was a great test against one of the top players in the world who prefers this surface.

“I was looking forward to the challenge. I was very focused to give my best performance and I managed to deliver.

“I haven’t had that consistency in my game. Mentally I’ve been trying to put things together in the last three or four months.

“These two matches have been exactly what I needed. I’m enjoying the grass.”

Federer will face Australia’s world number 60 Matthew Ebden, who defeated Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, for a place in the semi-finals.

Federer’s preparations in the build-up to the defence of his Wimbledon title had been running smoothly, with a title last week in Stuttgart and a solid opening Halle win for the top seed.

It was a tough fight on Thursday, however, with the 36-year-old missing two match points in the final-set tiebreak and then saving two for Paire.

The top seed finally won on his third match point when Paire returned long.

“You need to take the right decisions along the way,” Federer said of the dramatic tiebreaker. “You need some luck also, I guess.

“It was a tough match played at good level. He served well and was hard to break.

“It was always going to be tight. At the end it was extremey close, I was fortunate to have made it today.”

Federer, who won the opening set with back-to-back aces, fell 4-0 down in the second set as Paire rallied.

The Swiss got one of the breaks back but could not work his usual magic as the contest was squared at a set each.

The victory in just under two hours left Federer with a perfect 6-0 record over Paire, who angrily slashed his racquet across the grass in moments of desperation, drawing jeers from the crowd.

“I created quite a few opportunities, but maybe I was a bit tentative at times,” Federer said. “I was disappointed with my serve in the second set, being broken twice.

“That is not allowed to happen, I need to clean that up. But it was not a bad match for me.”

Had he lost on Thursday, Federer would have surrendered the world top ranking to Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon.

However, his escape act against Paire means he has now won 18 straight matches on his favoured grass surface, a run of success dating back a year.

Federer is seeking a 99th career title this weekend and could possibly be playing for his 100th at Wimbledon next month, where he has won eight of his 20 Grand Slam trophies.

Ebden reached the semi-finals in the Netherlands last week, where he lost to Jeremy Chardy.

The Australian needed just over 90 minutes to beat Kohlschreiber, the 2011 title winner in Halle. The Aussie fired seven aces while breaking four times.

Kohlschreiber is usually strong in his homeland where he is 121-64 with five of his eight ATP titles coming in Germany.

In other second-round matches, Croatian Borna Coric beat Nikolaz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-2 while Italy’s Andreas Seppi put out former champion Florian Mayer of Germany 6-2, 6-4.

str/dj

France, one of the pre-tournament favourites, join Uruguay and hosts Russia in the knockout rounds with one group game to go.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Mbappe — aged 19 years and 183 days — underlined his rich talent and claimed his place in the French record books when he poked home in the first half.

Didier Deschamps’ side face Denmark on Tuesday with top spot in Group C up for grabs but progression to the next stage assured.

In contrast, Peru face Australia with their fate sealed and just pride to play for in front of their passionate and large following that has decamped to Russia.

Some Peru fans were in tears even before kick-off — a generation of Peruvians have never known their country in the World Cup before.

The South Americans’ last appearance was in 1982 and they made this like a home game, ensuring their red and white dominated the Yekaterinburg Arena.

That included the two enormous temporary stands that stretch high above both ends, exposed to the elements, where Peru fans bobbed and bounced to keep warm.

Paul Pogba, the Manchester United midfielder who a few days ago called himself “the most criticised player in the world”, flashed a drive wide and defender Raphael Varane did likewise from a header.

With 15 minutes gone, Pogba and France began to impose themselves.

Antoine Griezmann drove straight at goalkeeper Pedro Gallese after Olivier Giroud — starting in place of Ousmane Dembele — set up the Atletico Madrid forward.

Deschamps had clearly told his side, disappointing in beating Australia 2-1 in their opener, to go long and use Giroud’s physicality.

Peru’s best outlet in the first half was rampaging full-back Luis Advincula, who had the beating of defender Lucas Hernandez down France’s left flank.

Peru, unfortunate to lose 1-0 to Denmark in their first game, took until the half-hour to have their first serious chance, with recalled skipper Paolo Guerrero stinging the legs of Hugo Lloris.

France captain Lloris, making his 100th appearance for his country, was a bystander for long periods.

On 34 minutes France went in front. Pogba cleverly played in Giroud, his shot took a deflection and looped over Gallese, allowing Mbappe to stab into an open net.

New-found confidence ran through the French and Hernandez should have made it 2-0 just before the break.

As in the first half, Peru made the better start to the second and midfielder Pedro Aquino arrowed a long-distance rocket onto Lloris’s upright.

But for all their possession, Peru — in their distinctive white kit with red sash — caused the French defence few problems.

Barcelona centre-back Samuel Umtiti was imperious alongside Real Madrid’s Varane.

.The Barcelona star was silenced by a far superior Croatia side in a brutal 3-0 defeat that left the South Americans needing an unlikely series of results to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive.

The World Cup is likely to lose the man who — along with Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo — has dominated and defined football for a decade.

Messi is just days short of his 31st birthday. We may be witnessing him on football’s biggest stage for the final time — a talent curiously unfulfilled at international level despite his astonishing feats for his club.

Argentina lost the 2014 World Cup final 1-0 to Germany after extra time, before suffering successive defeats by Chile on penalties in Copa America finals in 2015 and 2016.

Messi hinted before the start of this World Cup that he could quit international football after the tournament, having already retired in 2016 before swiftly reversing his decision.

After missing a penalty in the opening 1-1 draw with Iceland in Argentina’s first game in Russia, there was little doubt Messi was looking to atone against Croatia.

But he appeared tense even before kick-off, his body language betraying a man feeling the weight of expectations as he nervously rubbed his forehead amid deep contemplation during the national anthems.

An early darting run within seconds of the start suggested it could be his night, but it was not to be.

Messi was almost invisible as he was restricted to just 20 touches in an alarmingly subdued first half.

Only strike partner Sergio Aguero (seven) was less involved, with even goalkeeper Willy Caballero seeing the ball more frequently.

– Cracks –

His hat-trick to take Argentina to the World Cup had papered over gaping cracks, rescuing their campaign at the last, but the faultlines were plain to see on Thursday.

A howler from Caballero gifted Croatia the lead. Messi went close when a sliding block from Barcelona teammate Ivan Rakitic denied him from close range but he was powerless to prevent Argentina’s demise.

He desperately dropped back just in front of the defence at times to collect the ball but was repeatedly greeted by a wall of black Croatia shirts.

Two late goals drove a dagger into Argentina’s heart and Messi’s flickering hopes, leaving the five-time world player of the year seemingly destined never to win football’s greatest prize.

It is all in stark contrast to the heroics of his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who already has four goals at the World Cup and looks a shoo-in for a sixth world player of the year award.

“The reality of the Argentina squad clouds Leo’s brilliance. He is limited because the team doesn’t gel with him as it should,” was the verdict of coach Jorge Sampaoli.

The dream goes on for Ronaldo, also in his fourth and likely final World Cup, although Sampaoli was reluctant to be drawn on comparisons between the eternal rivals.

“I think Cristiano is a great player, you can look at all he has achieved for his club and his country,” he said. “Right now we shouldn’t compare these two players.”

Badminton’s world No 4 beat compatriot Busanan Ongbamrungphan for her second title here 12 months ago and is determined to reign again from July 10-15 at the Nimibutr National Stadium.

After 34 years, the tournament has been upgraded from World Tour 300 to Super 500 SuperSeries level. As a result, the field will be tougher tanks to the presence of elite players including world No 2 Akane Yamaguchi and current world champion Nozomi Okuhara, members of the Japan Uber Cup team who beat Thailand in the final last month.

The other strong contender for the women’s singles title is India’s world No 3 Pusarla V Sindhu.

“It will be very tough to defend the title with several top players signing on to play. I hope my fellow Thais and I will summon top form to win at home,” said Ratchanok, who will open her campaign against Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia. Thai Nos 2, 3 and 4 – Nitchaon Jindapol, Busanan and Pornpawee Chochuwong – are also in action.

On the men’s side, Thai hopes Khosit Phetpradab, Suppanyu Avihingsanon and Kantaphon Wangcharoen will test their mettle against the world’s best, including world No 3 Shi Yuqi and 2016 Olympics gold medallist Chen Long of China.

Thai badminton chief Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul is confident of more local success, after the last three home tournaments – the Thailand Masters 2017 and 18 and Thailand Open 2017 – were won by Thai women.

The 27-year-old Thai, who has just one Thai LPGA title to her credit, fired six birdies against one bogey at the par-72 course to grab a one-stroke lead over Gabriella Cowley of England and Australian-Thai Whitney Hillier.

Dubbed the “Dutch Bomber”, Van Dam unloaded seven birdies against a double bogey on the 15th hole to take the joint lead. –

Anuchisa credited a hot putter and said: “I was lucky to hole some long putts.”

The 22-year-old Dutchwoman made a flying start with four straight birdies from the 11^th – her second hole – and although she double bogeyed the par-4 15^th, the 2016 Xiamen International Ladies Open champion immediately recovered with a pair of birdies on the 16^th and 18^th to make the turn in four-under. She then scored another birdie at the par-4 third to set the pace at five-under at Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club in Pattaya.

“I’m working on some different things in my swing, so I was just focusing on that and not so much the score,” said the longest hitter on tour. “I’ve been hitting my driver a lot better, as I’ve been changing a few things with my coach to hit them a bit higher and a straighter ball flight. I hit some really good ones today.”

Her best came on the 469-yard par-5 seventh, where she hit a drive of 315 yards and she added: “I like the seventh hole. I didn’t birdie it today, but it’s a good risk, reward hole. There are a lot of good holes on this course. I can reach all the par fives if I pitch it on the fairway. From the rough, it’s too tough to get out of and stop it on the green.

“I was really stupid on 15, because I hit the perfect tee shot but had completely the wrong yardage, so I hit it straight into a bush, way too far and had a really unlucky lie. I didn’t hit a bad shot today, just one really good shot where I didn’t think about it that well. It was a bit of a shame, but I’m happy with how I hit back from that double to get right into it.”

Anne Van Dam

In contrast to last year, when only six players scored under par and the winning score was five-under-par, there were plenty of birdies on the leader board and the tournament remains wide open.

England’s Gabriella Cowley and Australian Whitney Hillier, whose mother is from Thailand, are both only one shot adrift with Beth Allen from the United States and Maria Palacios from Spain both on three-under.

Cowley said: “I had three birdies on the spin on 11, 12 and 13 and I played really solid the rest of the round. If you hit your driver well, you can give yourself a lot of chances here. The greens are difficult, some stop quickly and some release, so it all about judging it the best you can and giving yourself a decent putt.”

Hillier said: “I played really solid. I hit 12 fairways and actually only 13 greens, but the misses were only just off the green and I left myself in good positions. I made my birdie opportunities where I could. I’m pretty happy today!”

The shot of the day belonged to Scotland’s Michele Thomson, who holed out with a 7-iron from 164 yards on the par-3 14^th for her first professional ace.

She said: “It’s my first hole-in-one as a pro, so it was pretty special. I’ve had two as an amateur, both at my home club in a monthly medal at McDonald Golf Club Ellon, where I grew up as a junior.

“Nothing else really happened today, it was one-over and steady. I had a little problem with my back yesterday. I hit a shot on the range and felt a muscle pop, so I had to pull out of the Pro-Am. It was just nice to be able to play today and to be able to swing.”

As the championship moves into day two, it would take a brave person to try and predict the winner after the events of day one on the Eastern Seaboard of Thailand.

LIVE TV Broadcasting will be on True Sport HD 3 on True Visions during 13:00-16:00hrs on Saturday, 23 and Sunday, 24 June. Admission ticket for spectator is available at Ticket Booth near public entrance at the golf club at 100THB/person/day on 21-24 June. Free admission for spectator age under 18 and over 60 years old. Gate opening time is at 08:00hrs daily.

Be a part of world golf history! And let’s see if the new page of world golf record will be set once again in Ladies European Thailand Championship 2018!