Stunning Salah & Messi mosaics

Dramatic late strikes by Philippe Coutinho and Neymar gave Brazil their first win of the World Cup against Costa Rica in St Petersburg on Friday and broke Central American hearts by sending them out of the tournament.

The result leaves the five-times world champions with four points from two games after they drew 1-1 with Switzerland in their opening match, and they provisionally rise above Serbia to top Group E.

Serbia play Switzerland later on Friday.

The clock had ticked past 90 minutes when Marcelo crossed from the left and substitute Roberto Firmino headed the ball back across goal to Gabriel Jesus.

Jesus's first touch took the ball away from the defender and Coutinho raced in to poke past Keylor Navas from six metres out and claim his second goal of the tournament.

Neymar added the second with practically the last kick of the game, racing on to Jesus's square ball following a quick counter-attack as Costa Rica were forced to push for the equaliser.

The forward, who thought he had won a penalty in the 77th minute only for the referee to reverse the decision after consultation with the video assistant referee (VAR), was overcome by emotion on the whistle, covering his face as tears streamed down his cheeks.

For long periods Costa Rica's flat-back five kept Neymar on the periphery, with Johan Venegas and Cristian Gamboa both man-marking him out of the game as Brazil found it hard to carve out chances in the first half.

Marcelo's tame shot straight at Navas in the 41st minute was the first effort on target from either side before the break, and the team went into halftime with the boos and whistles of their own fans ringing in their ears.

Celso Borges spurned arguably the best chance of the first period for Costa Rica when he ran on to Gamboa's cut back but shot wide from eight metres out.

The result means Brazil have avoided the ignominy of equalling their longest winless run at the World Cup.

Argentina denied reports Friday that players want coach Jorge Sampaoli sacked before their final World Cup group game against Nigeria after a humbling 3-0 defeat by Croatia.

"It's absolutely false," read a statement from an Argentine team official.

"All that has been said about a players' meeting or anything else, it is all false," the source added.

Following Thursday's match, there were reports in both local and international media of a rift between Argentina players and the coaching staff.

It was also suggested that 1986 World Cup winner Jorge Burruchaga, the team's technical director, would take charge for Tuesday's must-win game against Nigeria.

"They want to sack Sampaoli, bring in Burruchaga and follow Spain's example," Ricardo Caruso Lombardi, who has coached several Argentine clubs, said on Thursday.

Spain dismissed coach Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the World Cup after Real Madrid announced he would replace Zinedine Zidane at the Santiago Bernabeu following the tournament.

Argentina suffered their heaviest first round group-stage defeat at the World Cup since 1958 against Croatia, leaving them on the brink of elimination after an opening 1-1 draw with Iceland.

After his team crashed out of the World Cup, Egypt's star player Mohamed Salah has won a consolation prize in the form of honorary citizenship of Chechnya.

Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov wrote on Telegram that he had presented the Liverpool star with the honorary title while hosting a dinner for the Egypt team, whose World Cup training base is in the Chechen capital Grozny.

"Mohamed Salah is an honorary citizen of Chechnya! That's right!" Kadyrov wrote late Friday.

"Tonight I signed a decree to grant the high honour to the great footballer who plays for Egypt and Liverpool."

Kadyrov, supported by Russia's President Vladimir Putin, rules Chechnya with an iron fist, drawing constant condemnation from human rights groups.

He is known as an ardent football fan and in 2013 took to the public address system during a match involving Chechen team Akhmat (formerly Terek) to publicly insult the referee.

Salah has been photographed smiling and clasping hands with Kadyrov during the tournament.

Egypt crashed out of the World Cup after losing to Russia 3-1 on Tuesday, with Salah returning to action for the first time in three weeks following a shoulder injury but unable to save his team. The Egyptians play their final match against Saudi Arabia on Monday.

Kadyrov said that at "a gala dinner that I gave for the Egypt team I presented Mohamed Salah with a copy of my decree and a lapel badge. This is a well-deserved honour!"

The Chechen leader has previously presented French actor Gerard Depardieu with the same honorary title.

He also said that he was confident that Akhmat would play a friendly with the Egyptian national team in Grozny at some future date.

Kadyrov said Salah had praised the "wonderfully warm and good welcome" the team received in Grozny.

Egypt’s Mo Salah arrived in Russia with his wing ahead of their third appearance FIFA World Cup and the Pharaohs immediately treated to the traditional ‘lezginka’ dance by locals at the team’s base in Chechnya.

The squad will be based at ‘The Local Hotel’ in Grozny, the capital city of the Chechen Republic, as a Chechen pair in traditional Chechen dress performed the lezginka dance - a folk dance originating from the Lezgian people of the Caucasus region - as the players disembarked coaches outside the hotel. 

The dance is traditionally performed by a man, often with a sword, and imitating an eagle. The dancer falls to his knees, leaps up, and dances with steps and strong, sharp arm and body movements like the bird.

استقبال بعثة المنتخب الوطني لدى وصولها فندق لوكال مقر اقامة البعثة طوال فترة اقامتها بجروزني pic.twitter.com/ca9WuWCD2c

EFA.eg (@EFA) June 10, 2018