The five-time world champions turned on the style, dancing their way to a 4-1 World Cup round-of-16 win over South Korea on Monday at Qatar’s Stadium 974. Vinicius Jr, Neymar Jr, Richarlison, and Lucas Paqueta all scored in a dominant first half as Brazil advanced to the quarterfinals.
Neymar, who had missed Brazil’s final two group games due to an ankle injury, suffered against Serbia, and Danilo returned to the starting XI for Tite, as the Selecao pursued a sixth World Cup title.
Vinicius Jr wasted no time putting his side ahead, settling a cross from Raphinha that found him unmarked at the back post and calmly curling a shot into the side netting.
Jung Woo-Young fouled Richarlison in the area minutes after the opener, giving Neymar a chance to double the lead. The Paris Saint-Germain star scored from the penalty spot, sending Kim Seung-Gyu the wrong way to make it 2-0 inside 15 minutes.
Before the half-hour mark, Tottenham star Richarlison made it 3-0 by sliding the easiest of finishes into the South Korean goal after some brilliant individual skill and clever interplay with Thiago Silva at the top of the penalty area.
Tite’s men scored their fourth goal of the first half on a counter-attack that saw Neymar feed Vinicius, who in turn scooped a cross for the onrushing Paqueta to side-foot home with his first touch.
Son Heung-Min of Tottenham forced a great save from Alisson shortly after the restart, and Raphinha was denied twice at the other end as he looked to add to Brazil’s tally.
Despite holding Brazil scoreless in the second half and scoring a stunning late consolation goal through Paik Seung-Ho, South Korea’s World Cup came to an end against the tournament favourites. Following the game, Brazil’s players posed for a group photo with a banner depicting Pele to wish him well.
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