Brazil vs. South Korea: Brazil advanced to the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals with a thrilling and overwhelming victory against South Korea on Monday night.
Tite’s men took an early lead at Stadium 974 and never looked back as one of the tournament favorites showcased their strength on the last day of the final 16 actions.
Rafinha moved inside off the right wing and attracted the challenge of many South Korean defenders, with his low cross being touched on by Neymar and into the path of a wide-open Vinicius Junior. Despite the different individuals retiring to the goal line, the Real Madrid striker managed to pick out the top corner, earning just his second goal for the Selecao.
Only five minutes later, Brazil was given a penalty as Richarlison snatched the ball from Jung Woo-young while clearing, drawing contact from the midfielder and collapsing. The returning Neymar onto the field outwitted goalie Kim Seung-Gyu, rooted him to the ground, and rolled the ball into the bottom corner.
As a frantic first period proceeded, Alisson was pushed into a stretching save, rapidly reaching aloft to redirect Hwang Hee-25-yard chan’s piledriver over the bar.
Brazil’s third goal came in a traditional yellow-and-green manner. Richarlison started the move by juggling his head, feeding the extremely high Marquinhos, who then played it around the corner for Thiago Silva, whose first-time ball found Richarlison through on goal, and he made no mistake from six yards out.
The Selecao scored their fourth goal with 36 minutes remaining. Vinicius’ chipped cutback found Lucas Paqueta’s run flawlessly, and his controlled volley slid down the floor and past a hapless Kim.
A fifth goal should have been scored before halftime as Brazil attempted to assault South Korea on the counter, but Richarlison’s scuffed effort was saved, and the rebound went over off Neymar’s leg.
As a frantic match continued, Kim denied Raphinha, and Alisson denied Son Heung-min at the second half’s opening.
Rafinha was looking for his own goal, darting inside and twisting his way past two South Korean defenders before being denied again by Kim.
In the Taegeuk Warriors’ quest for a consolation, Alisson saved another of Hwang’s shots, while Marquinhos crawled across the floor and denied Son from the rebound.
South Korea finally equalized in the last quarter-hour when substitute Paik Seung-ho scored from 25 yards after answering quickly to a cleared free-kick.
In the last minute of standard time, an acrobatic volley from Dani Alves, 39, was stopped by the head of Chul Hong before referee Clement Turpin drew the game to a close after four minutes of stoppages.
On Friday, Brazil will meet Croatia in the quarterfinals. The victors will then face either the Netherlands or Argentina the following week.
Brazil player evaluations (4-2-3-1)
GK: Alisson – 7/10 – Despite Brazil’s dominance, Alisson was called into action a few times, producing a streak of superb stops and brought off in the last 10 minutes for Weverton, ensuring that every team member had played at least once.
RB: Eder Militao – 6/10 – His task was made simpler by Son beginning upfront and Hwang shooting from long range.
CB: Marquinhos – 8/10 – Moved quickly into midfield and kept Son quiet (even blocking a goal-bound shot when he forged a chance).
Thiago Silva – 9/10 – Displayed a fantastic variety of passing at both ends of the field while preventing Cho from entering the game.
LB: Danilo – 6/10 – Appeared to be in good shape after recovering from an ankle injury. I was hardly tested and didn’t step on anything.
CM: Casemiro – 8/10 – Broke up play, and although he seemed wasteful on the ball at first, he gradually came into the game and steamrolled his way through midfield.
9/10 CM: Lucas Paqueta Added flair and intensity to the midfield duel, waltzing through to the goal and stroking in Brazil’s fourth goal.
Rafinha – 8/10 RM He wasn’t phased by his early pass out of play. Stronger comeback with a twisting-and-turning show coming in from the right.
AM: Neymar (8/10) The ideal game for Neymar, who had just recovered from a terrible ankle injury and was allowed to play at his own pace.
Vinicius Junior LM: 9/10 It seemed surprising that Vinicius had only scored once for Brazil until today. With his second goal and fantastic all-around performance, he’ll undoubtedly become a Selecao legend.
Richarlison CF – 9/10 – It’s difficult to think he isn’t a foregone conclusion at the club level, especially with a positional opponent on the opposite side tonight. R9 embodied ‘Joga bonito’ and was deserving of the title.
Tite – 9/10 – Manager Tite deserves his roses for sparking such a magnificent performance, despite being chastised for not getting the best out of his flair players. Richarlison even joined in on the dance.
South Korean player evaluations (4-4-2)
GK: Kim Seung-Gyu – 3/10 – Neymar made him look foolish on the penalty spot, and he also surrendered multiple goals from open play.
3/10 RB: Kim Moon-hwan, I had the arduous chore of slowing Vinicius down. It didn’t go well.
2/10 – CB: Kim Min-Jae, I made unusual judgments about whether to remain or depart. It did nothing to aid in the organization of a disorganized defense.
Richarlison and Neymar dragged Kim Young-Gwon back and forth.
4/10 LB: Kim Jin-Su Raphinha made things tough for him, but he made an effort to continue. Mind you. I was captivated before the break.
3/10 RM: It was difficult for Lee Jae-sung to get into the game, which is unfortunate, given that he should have challenged Danilo upon his return from injury.
CM: Hwang In-beom – 2/10 – Hwang, like Kim Min-Jae at the back, was often guilty of overcommitting and enabling Brazil to run all over him.
CM: Jung Woo-young – 2/10 – Gave up a penalty and was usually slow. At halftime, he was withdrawn.
5/10 for Hwang Hee-chan. While being fired from a vast distance away, his rounds were at least moderately dangerous.
CF: Cho Gue-sung – 4/10 – Failed to assert his physical supremacy in the group stages.
CF: Son Heung-min – 4/10 – Bento’s choice to put Son centrally was unusual, making it more difficult for him to get into the game. He squandered an excellent opportunity early in the second half, but the game was already over.
Manager: Paulo Bento – 3/10 – South Korea was utterly overwhelmed. They were either set up to fail by Bento’s techniques or just ignored him.
