ST. PETERSBURG — At the summer solstice, with the dipping sun stopping short of the horizon and failing to fully darken this luminescent northern city, residents and visitors alike enjoy weeks of what is known as the White Nights.
Endless days invite nonstop activity, in the pretty parks and along the Neva River and Baltic Sea.
What better time and setting for the Brazilian masses, soccer revelers of unparalleled endurance, followers of the famed Selecao, worshipers of the sun wrapped in beautiful bright yellow?
And so Friday they came to this lovely corner of Europe — and fretted and fumed and fussed while a laborious match against Costa Rica unfolded before two goals in second-half stoppage time defused the tension and produced a 2-0 victory.
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Philippe Coutinho’s go-ahead goal brought such profound relief that Coach Tite charged onto the field and tumbled to the turf.
