A rampant Brazil dominated South Korea at Stadium 974 to emphatically seal their spot in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Tite’s side were full of confidence as they put four past the South Koreans in the first half, including another outrageous goal by Richarlison. There was so much to like about that third goal: Richarlison dribbling with the ball on his head, the two Brazil players involved in the build-up on the edge of the box being their centre-backs Marquinhos and Thiago Silva, and then there was their 61-year-old manager throwing shapes in the dancing celebrations.
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The superb performance took the attention away from what was quite a risky selection decision by Tite — starting Neymar after the forward had missed the final two group games with an injury to his right ankle. But Neymar looked chirpy throughout, dancing, dribbling, nutmegging and showing no signs of discomfort when he stuck a penalty past Kim Seung-gyu to make it 2-0.
South Korea scored a late consolation goal through Paik Seung-ho, beating Alisson from long range.
James Horncastle, Felipe Cardenas, Charlotte Harpur and Maram Al Baharna analyse the key talking points…
Brazil have arrived
Horncastle: The legendary Brazilian commentator Galvao Bueno was sat a couple of rows down from The Athletic at Stadium 974. He spent half-time mopping his brow over and over again, as if he needed to cool down after Brazil’s performance against South Korea. It was 4-0 Brazil at the interval and could have been six.
On the eve of the game, Tite had been telling reporters to consult the statistics. Brazil were creating plenty without taking their chances. That changed tonight by the waterfront in Doha. A team that hadn’t scored a first-half goal yet at this World Cup made up for lost time — and in what style too.
Richarlison’s scissor-kick in the opening win over Serbia was an early contender for goal of the tournament. He is his own competition now. His team-mates might be his closest competition. Brazil didn’t score an ugly goal tonight — even Neymar’s sauntering, stutter-step spot kick reduced Kim Seung-gyu in the South Korea goal to a jittery mess.
Another Richarlison wondergoal
Al Baharna: Even Tite got involved in the dancing following the goal that made it 3-0. That says everything about Richarlison’s screamer.
It wasn’t just the final shot, but everything leading up to it.
Everything about it was so Brazilian.
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It begins with Richarlison challenging for a loose ball and morphing into the seal-dribble sensation, Kerlon, as he flicks the ball up, balances it on his forehead and juggles it.
All Lucas Paqueta can do is hold his hand to his head and watch as Richarlison then lays it off to Marquinhos, the first centre-back involved in the goal but certainly not the only one.
From there, everything moves so quickly…
A sharp pass arrives at the feet of Thiago Silva, their other centre-back, also up on the edge of the South Korea box (what was he doing there?), and he delivers the perfectly-weighted assist to Richarlison making a run in behind.
It was fast and it was furious. And the football was just as entertaining as the dancing that came after.
Richarlison is just toying with them out there 😤🔥 pic.twitter.com/eEbUu4eWTW
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 5, 2022
"Eye-catching, intricate… typically Brazilian!" 🇧🇷🙌
How good is Richarlison for this Brazil side?! 😲#ITVFootball | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/IbJbKku3j2
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) December 5, 2022
Was starting Neymar worth the risk?
Harpur: On the whole, yes. Neymar appears to have come through unscathed after playing 80 minutes here. Of course, more minutes means more opportunities for him to pick up another injury and Brazil fans will have been relieved to see his number come up on the substitutes’ board.
Tite would be damned if he did and damned if he didn’t start Brazil’s star forward. He obviously felt confident Neymar was fit enough to get into duels, knowing he’d be heavily marked. Take Brazil’s first goal, for example — Raphinha’s cutback fell to Neymar, but he was met by a sliding challenge and missed the ball, Vinicius Junior taking his chance instead.
Neymar stepped up and coolly slotted home from the spot for Brazil’s second and there were plenty of glimmers of his change of pace and forward balls to Vinicius, but at times his decision-making was poor.
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That goal takes him just one short of Pele’s all-time record of 77 for Brazil, and Neymar will have his eyes on that in what could be his final World Cup (he’ll be 34 years old by the time the 2026 finals kick off).
Brazil didn’t need it to be the Neymar show tonight, but he was still part of a superb team performance.
Raphinha repays Tite’s faith
Cardenas: How important is Raphinha for Brazil? We all see his long strides. We marvel at the cannon he has for a left foot. And when Brazil turn on the style, like they did here against South Korea, Raphinha wants to be invited to the party.
But a lot of what he does for Brazil goes unnoticed, and that’s why he’s keeping other talented wingers on the bench. Raphinha is tireless on that right flank.
Raphinha looks comfortable in a wing-back role, which comes as no surprise after playing for Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United. He pokes balls away in midfield, cuts off passing lanes and tracks back to defend. On top of all that, set pieces are his specialty.
He is a constant threat in the attacking third, in spite of all the work he does off the ball. Brazil’s first goal of the game came from a darting Raphinha run down the right. His pass scattered into the box and found Vinicius, whose tidy finish opened the floodgates and started the dancing.
Antony, Rodrygo and Gabriel Martinelli are quality wingers. Each offers something special for Brazil. But it’s clear that Raphinha does so much more for Tite.
Tite uses every player in his squad
Tite introduced his third-choice goalkeeper Weverton for Alisson with 10 minutes to go; in doing so, he has now used every player in his 26-man squad.
26 – Brazil have now used all 26 members of their squad at the 2022 World Cup (including three goalkeepers), becoming the first side in World Cup history to use as many as 26 players at a single edition. Contribution. pic.twitter.com/BidgkRss4Q
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 5, 2022
The 34-year-old Palmeiras player is very much third in line behind two of the best goalkeepers in the world — Liverpool’s Alisson and Ederson of Manchester City — but it was a nice gesture from the Brazil coach to a player who has now appeared nine times for his country since making his debut six years ago.
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Weverton had little to do during his time on the pitch, but did complete three of his five passes.
Playing for Brazil for 10 minutes (plus added time) at a World Cup? I don’t think anyone would say no…
Brazil fans send support to Pele
Harpur: In the 10th minute of each half, the sea of yellow Brazilian shirts was temporarily covered by an even bigger expanse of yellow.
A huge tifo with the image of Brazil’s iconic No 10 rippled over 20 rows. The message read: “Pele, Get Well Soon.”
(Photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images)The 82-year-old tweeted earlier that he would watch the match from hospital, where he has been since Tuesday to treat a respiratory infection aggravated by COVID-19. He is also undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer.
Who knows if the Brazilian fans got the banner printed in Doha or if they were so prepared they brought it over from South America with them.
What is certain is that the Brazilian legend will be very pleased with his country’s masterclass tonight — even if Neymar is ever closer to surpassing his all-time goalscoring record.
(Additional contributors: Maram Al Baharna, Felipe Cardenas)
(Photo: Francois Nel/Getty Images)
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