CNN –
Brazil danced past South Korea on Monday and reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup, eliminating their opponents 4-1 in a dazzling performance at Qatar 2022.
This was a real statement of intent from Brazil as Tite’s side showed why they were considered favorites to lift the trophy going into the tournament.
Four first-half goals from Vinicius Jr., Neymar Jr., Richarlison and Lucas Paqueta ended this match as a contest soon after it began, with a combination of key Korean defending and brilliant Brazilian attacking play which led to the most one-sided game. of this World Cup so far.
As porous as the Korean defense was, the first 45 minutes were a true football spectacle and encapsulated everything that has made Brazil feared and admired at the World Cup over the years.
This included a perfectly choreographed dance as Brazil celebrated each of their four goals in style, even convincing head coach Tite to join in with Richarlison’s ‘pigeon dance’ for the third goal.
The second half was little more than a procession for Brazil as their players took their foot off the gas and began to conserve their energies for the much tougher test against Croatia that awaits on Friday.
Seung-Ho Paik grabbed a consolation goal for Korea 15 minutes from time when his long-range shot deflected off Thiago Silva who headed it past Alisson into the far corner.
With the recent news that football great Pelé had been admitted to hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s players celebrated the victory at full-time with a banner in tribute to the three-time World Cup winner.
Brazil entered this tournament as favorites to lift the trophy, but so far they have not lived up to that label.
Tite’s iteration of the Seleçao has always been known for its pragmatism rather than the Joga Bonito style of football displayed by some of the great Brazilian teams of old.
Even by their pragmatic standards, however, the team’s three group games were stodgy affairs, with only brief glimpses – mainly in the closing stages of a 2-0 win over Serbia – of the style that we have become accustomed to associating with Brazil over the years. .
But this pragmatism has made this defense remarkably stingy; before Tite had made nine changes for the third group game against Cameroon, Brazil had not faced a shot on target in Qatar.
Brazil were also given a big boost ahead of their game against South Korea with the news that Neymar was fit to play for the first time since spraining his ankle in that opener against Serbia.
If the Brazilian players, for whatever reason, needed any extra motivation, the news that Pelé would be tuning into this match from the hospital in São Paulo where he is currently receiving treatment would have provided it.
South Korea, meanwhile, have impressed in reaching the last 16, going through a difficult group that includes Portugal, Ghana and Uruguay.
But Brazil started this game like it was business, barely allowing the Koreans a touch of the ball inside the first five minutes.
That early dominance paid off after just seven minutes as some good footwork from Raphinha set off a flowing Brazil move that ended with an unerring finish at the far post by Vinicius Jr., who place the ball perfectly in front of four Korean players.
Korea’s poor start quickly turned into a nightmare as Woo-Young Jung mistimed his swing for the ball and instead caught Richarlison with his foot inside the penalty area. It was certainly soft, but there was enough contact for referee Clement Turpin to award the penalty.
Neymar, back from injury, made no mistake, strolling nonchalantly and slotting the ball to the goalkeeper’s left.
The goal was Neymar’s 76th for the national team, just one goal shy of equaling Pelé as Brazil’s all-time top scorer. With a goal, Neymar also became the third Brazilian player in history after Pelé and Ronaldo to score in three different World Cups.
Hee-Chan Hwang forced Alisson into a wonderful one-handed save shortly after the penalty, but that was the closest South Korea came to scoring in the first half.
In fact, Turpin defended the Brazilian players better than any South Korean: at one point, the French referee inadvertently blocked Neymar’s path, forcing Paris Saint-Germain to go forward and find a teammate of equipment
With the result now beyond doubt, it was party time for Brazil. There were two more goals before half time and both showed the best of Brazilian football.
For the former, Richarlison began playing goalkeeping with the ball on his forehead, before rounding a Korean defender, exchanging passes with Thiago Silva and Marquinhos and slotting the ball past Kim Seung Gyu.
The second came after a flowing Brazil counter-attack when Vinicius put the ball to the far post for the advancing Paqueta to volley home.
This game was long over as a competition, but now it was in danger of turning into a humiliating night for South Korea, if it hadn’t already.
It was arguably the best and most dominant half of football any team has assembled so far at this World Cup as Brazil finally announced themselves as the main contenders to lift the trophy in Qatar.
If there was one positive for South Korea at the interval, it was that the score was only 4-0 instead of seven or eight, but the second half would only be an exercise in damage limitation.
Both teams had chances to add to the scoreline, but the goalkeepers came out on top for most of the second period, until Paik’s half-volley in the 75th minute finally beat Alisson thanks to a deflection from Silva.
That was to be the last meaningful action in a game that had, in reality, been over since the 30 minute mark.
Brazil and Tite in particular will be delighted with the manner of the victory and the performance of star Neymar, who was brilliant when he returned unscathed in his first game.