On Monday, Neymar helped lead Brazil to a 4-1 victory over South Korea as the tournament favorites advanced to the quarterfinals. Neymar had recently returned from injury.
The most expensive player in the world missed his team’s previous two games due to an ankle sprain sustained during their 2-0 victory against Serbia in their first game in Qatar.
However, he returned for this round of 16 matches as Tite’s team got going and sent a menacing message to their competitors, at least before slowing down in the second half.
In the first seven minutes, Vinicius Junior scored the game’s first goal before Neymar added another from the penalty spot to give him 76 goals overall for his country, one short of Pele’s all-time record.
A spectacular goal from Richarlison made it 3-0, and a second goal from Lucas Paqueta before halftime stunned South Korea.
Paik Seung-ho restored parity, but at that point, Croatia, the runners-up from last year’s tournament, was on Brazil’s mind.
Since 1998, the five-time World Cup champions had not scored four goals in a tournament knockout game.
Here, the players occasionally played with the exuberance associated with the Brazilian national team, uniting to celebrate each goal by showcasing their dance moves, with even their coach joining in.
Their performance in the first half was excellent and a fitting tribute to the great Pele if they were to play within themselves.
The legendary Brazilian player had already stated that he will watch the game from the Sao Paulo hospital where he was admitted last week while undergoing ongoing colon cancer treatment. As a result, fans at Doha’s Stadium 974 unfurled a banner with the phrase “Get well soon” for him.
Son Heung-min and South Korea, who have yet to triumph in a World Cup knockout game played outside of their own nation, learned a valuable lesson from the entire ordeal.
After altering his lineup for the 1-0 defeat to Cameroon, which came after qualifying for the round of 16, Tite made 10 changes to the Brazil team.
The only player to preserve his spot and switch to right-back was Eder Militao, who replaced the injured Danilo at left-back.
This was Brazil’s starting defense with Thiago Silva and Marquinhos also participating in goal, but their forwards ended the match fast.
In the seventh minute, Raphinha outran Kim Jin-su on the right and fired their first attempt on goal, which Vinicius calmly placed in the top left corner of the goal.
After Richarlison was fouled by Jung Woo-young, they were awarded a penalty, which Neymar duly converted against Kim Seung-gyu. His past six goals for Brazil have now all come from the penalty spot.
After that, Hwang Hee-brutal chan’s long-range attempt required a save from Alisson, but Brazil quickly added a third goal before the half-hour mark.
Before passing the ball to Marquinhos and entering the box to receive Silva’s assist and score his third World Cup goal, Richarlison juggled the ball on his head three times just outside the area.
Nine minutes before halftime, Paqueta added their fourth goal with a first-time finish after connecting with a Vinicius ball that was held up from the byline.
Despite Raphinha being stopped by the goalie multiple times, they could have added more in the second half if they hadn’t let up.
However, Korea should be commended for persevering because they were rewarded inside the last quarter-hour when replacement Paik pulled down a headed clearance and sent in a fierce effort from 25 yards out that beat Alisson despite Silva’s block.
The Brazilian goalie was subsequently substituted for the final 10 minutes by Weverton, and Neymar was also removed because Tite was focused on Croatia.
