Luay Ahmed
Korea looked out of sorts from the first few minutes of the game, with Brazil pushing men forward and getting behind their back line with ease.
It took just seven minutes for Brazil to score the first goal, with Raphina easily getting past his marker on the right wing, before playing in a low ball across the penalty area. Vinicius Jr received the ball with his first touch, and coolly slotted the ball into the top right corner with his second touch to give Brazil the lead.
Three minutes later, Richarlison got a touch on the ball a moment before Jung’s attempted clearance, prompting the Korean midfielder to kick the Brazilian forward’s ankles instead of the ball, resulting in a penalty which the returning Neymar calmly dispatched into the bottom right corner to double his country’s lead.
Brazils third goal came in the 29th minute and is a sure contender for the goal of the tournament so far. After some brilliant headed juggles of the ball, Richarlison played a one-two with Thiago Silva, before controlling the pass back brilliantly and opening his body up for a low, side footed far post finish.
Brazil were not satisfied with a 3-0 lead. Neymar picked the ball up in midfield in the 36th minute, and played a through ball to Vinicius on the left wing. The Real Madrid forward lofted the ball into the penalty area for Lucas Paqueta to side foot a volley into the bottom corner to make the score line 4-0.
Brazil could’ve scored a fifth before half time when Casemiro’s ball over the top found Richarlison in acres of space and headed towards goal. The Tottenham Hostpur man tried to slot the ball into the bottom corner but S. Kim made the save to send the teams into the break with the score at 4-0.
The second half was played at a much more relaxed pace for Brazil, who knew the game was won. Despite that, they still managed to fashion some opportunities to add to the score line. Raphina in particular had multiple chances to score, and was met on each occasion by S. Kim who had a point to prove in the Korean goal in the second half.
Midway through the half, substitute Paik Seuong-Ho scored a consolation goal for Korea, who had begun to create some chances. The ball fell to the midfielder outside of the box, and he rocketed in a tremendous left foot volley into Allison’s top corner to make the score 4-1.
Final score: Brazil 4 – 1 South Korea