World Cup 2022: Brazil dance to the quarter-finals

Vinicius Junior (7th minute) and superstar Neymar (13th / from the penalty spot) set up the winning streak early in front of 43,847 spectators, unleashing a barrage of goals towards the South Korean goal. Richarlison (29min) and Lucas Barqueta (36min) made things clear even before the change of teams with goals to watch and thus boosted the fans’ hopes for “Hexa” – their sixth world title overall and their first since. 2002 Baek Song-ho scored the consolation goal in the 76th minute. Immediately after the final whistle, South Korea’s president Paulo Bento announced his retirement.

With the Schützenfest, the “Selekau” qualified for at least the final eight in a row for the eighth time. The last time Brazil was knocked out of the World Cup finals was in Italy in the round of 16 in 1990. On the other hand, South Korea, who only made it to the qualifying round for the third time and for the first time since 2010, had to quickly give up their dream of surprising them like they did in World Cup in 2002. 20 years ago, the Koreans ranked fourth in their country.

Neymar is back

For the last time, Doha’s temporary, containerized Stadium 974 was the scene of a World Cup match, but it was also allowed to be the scene of a Neymar comeback. The star, who missed two matches in the group stage with an ankle injury, was as ready for the knockout stage as he had hoped throughout Brazil. Neymar’s boss Tite also had to change his defence. After the exit of two left-backs, Alex Sandro and Alex Telles, Danilo changed sides. For him, Eder Militao started at right-back.

As expected, the newly formed Brazilian defense faced the most dangerous South Korea on paper. Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur captained the Taeguk Warriors. In defense, Bento relied again on the letters K, I and M: in front of the goalkeeper Kim Seung Gyu, Kim Jin Su, Kim Moon Hwan, Kim Min Jae and Kim Young Gwon should disrupt the attacking circles of Neymar, Vinicius Junior and Richarlison. There was also former Salzburg player Hwang Hee-chan.

Show strength in the first half

The South Koreans’ hope of keeping the five-time world champions in check for long did not materialize. Because blue and yellow dominate not only in the ranks, but also on the lawn. And in the seventh minute, Brazil’s first cheer began after Vinicius Jr. threw a cross from Rafinha into the net. The score was 2-0 after just five minutes. Neymar accepted the ball first, and then with the arrogance of a star inflicted a penalty kick in the preliminary decision and made Pele the man of record close to all but one goal with his team.

The Koreans, who had shown themselves bravely in the first minutes, had already climbed steeply on paper, turning into an insurmountable wall after less than a quarter of an hour. But Brazil were far from finished in the first half and were just beginning to show their strength. First, Richarlison completed a tongue-twisting combo with Thiago Silva to make it 3-0 (29′), less than seven minutes later Lucas Paqueta volleyed Vinicius Jr.’s volley into the net (36′).

After all: although they were eliminated from the tournament after half an hour, the South Koreans did not resign themselves to their fate. On the contrary, Bento’s team had chances to sweeten the score a bit. It was twice the former Salzburger Hwang, who missed the opportunity to score once from a distance (17) and once in front of the goal from an acute angle (32). On the other hand, “Selecau” did not miss much for the fifth goal, but Richarlison failed this time in the stoppage time of the first half through goalkeeper Kim.

Silicao saves energy

In the second half, given the score, the main concern of the Brazilians was to save energy for the task ahead against Croatia. The South Koreans aimed firstly at further damage limitation and secondly at a goal of consolation. Shortly after the start of the second half, Son got that too, but Alisson had the ball in the Brazilian goal (48). Neymar & Co. Now let the reins slip a bit, but still a little dangerous. After dancing Ravenha in the 55th and 62nd minutes, the Koreans were able to thank their goalkeeper, Kim.

Speaking of goalkeepers: Alisson also managed to excel despite having a clear lead when Hwang was once again able to use a certain fumble in the Brazilian defense to score a goal. But the Brazilian goalkeeper’s glove was initially in the way of the 26-year-old’s powerful shot, who now makes his money with Wolverhampton Wanderers (69). But at least the fighting spirit of the “Taeguk Warriors” was rewarded with a sense of accomplishment. Paik gave the Koreans the goal of honor with a long-range shot (76′).

The Brazilians were already contemplating the next assignment, Croatia, which awaits them at the Education City Stadium on Friday. In the last stage, Tite not only gave his stars Neymar and Vinicius Jr. a break, but also goalkeeper Alisson. With Weverton, only third-placed, the last player in the squad was also able to look forward to a World Cup appearance. Just as the legend Pele, who is fighting cancer in a hospital in Brazil, was delighted with the dominant performance of his compatriots. Substitute Dani Alves, 39, almost capped off the ceremony with an impressive side kick (89).

Vote in the game

Tete (Brazil coach): “We try to adapt to the personalities of the players. They are young and I try to adapt to their language. Part of their language is dancing. There is no other explanation (for my dance) than the joy of the goal, the joy of my team and the joy of the achievement. This is not disrespectful to the opponent or towards (the Correa coach). Southern) Paulo Bento, for whom I have a lot of respect.

Neymar (Brazil’s top scorer): “We dream of winning the World Cup. We still have three steps to go. We are well prepared and mentally very focused. I worked with my physiotherapists until the end because I was very worried that the World Cup was already over for me. But it worked. I hope we get to the final, to be there and then crown the World Cup with a win. I hope Pele recovers and he’s happy we won today.”

Paolo Pinto (Korea Republic team manager): “It was my last day as coach of South Korea. I’ll take a break and then see what I do next. I said that to the players and the president of the federation. I made that decision back in September, it’s set in stone. I thank the federation and the players For everything they have done for me. In Korean football, it hasn’t been like this for a long time when the coach was there throughout the World Cup cycle. We’ve always stayed true to our style of play. It makes me proud and happy.”

World Cup 2022, Round of 16

Monday:

Brazil 4-1 South Korea (4-0)

Doha, Stade 974, 43.847, SR Turbin (France)

Portals:
1-0 Vinicius Junior (7)
2-0 Neymar (13 / penalty kick)
3-0 Richarlison (29 min)
4-0 Paqueta (36 minutes)
4:1 Paik SH (76th place)

Brazil: Alisson (80 min / Weverton) – Eder Militao (63 min / Alves), Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Danilo (72 min / Bremer) – Paqueta, Casemiro, Neymar (80 min / Rodrygo) – Rafinha, Richarlison, Vinicius Junior (72′) minute). ./ Martinelli)

South Korea: S Kim – M Kim, Kim, Y Kim, J Kim (46 / C Hong) – J Lee (74 / K Lee), I Hwang (65 / Paik), W Jung (46 / J Son), Hwang – H Son Ji Chu (80 / Yu Hwang)

Yellow cards: none or W. Jung

The best: Richarlison, Vinicius Jr, Neymar, Paqueta and S. Kim straight