Qatar December 6, 2022: This was just like watching Brazil. From his hospital bed in Sao Paulo, as he fights colon cancer, Pele was among the viewers and he saw the kind of dazzling, swaggering display that rolled back the years for the Selecao and sent out a statement to the rest of the world. Joga Bonito, with those illustrious shirts, jogged the memories. This was the Brazil of Pele.
The 82-year-old also saw Neymar return, after injury, and score the goal that takes him within one of Pele’s all-time record of 77 for Brazil; he saw a performance full of samba sweetness, with a kick like a Caipirinha cocktail, and he saw the confirmation that his countrymen are rightly the favourites to win this tournament.
At the final whistle Neymar and Danilo, who had both been substituted, returned to the centre circle to unfurl a banner in tribute to Pele. They were joined by their team-mates while four legends – Ronaldo, Cafu, Roberto Carlos and Rivaldo – happily watched from the stands.
Brazil now face Croatia in the quarter-finals on Friday. They have gone out to European opposition at every World Cup since 2002, and though Luka Modric and co will be more wily than South Korea, who were naive, overwhelmed and chased the game after falling behind (and whose Portuguese coach Paulo Bento quit as their campaign ended), they will surely not stand in Brazil’s way. Prior to kick-off South Korea’s captain Son Heung-min puffed out his cheeks as he stood in the tunnel. He looked like he knew what was coming.
In the build-up to the last-16 tie, Pele had posted on social media a faded colour photograph of himself as a 17-year-old in Stockholm, in 1958, having promised his father he would help Brazil win their first World Cup. He did just that and is still the only player to have done so three times. In his post he declared that he would be watching this tie and Brazil took notice. “I want to inspire you my friends,” he wrote. And he did just that.
After a wait of 20 years Brazil believe they are destined to win it again and on this form it will take an incredible effort to prevent them as they celebrated the return of Neymar who had limped out of their opening group game against Serbia with an ankle injury.
“I did not feel any pain,” Neymar said afterwards. “When I got injured I spent a very difficult night, I was thinking of a million different things and I was afraid I might not play in the World Cup.”
The forward kissed the ball before nonchalantly stroking home the penalty that was one of four goals in an extraordinarily dominant first-half with Richarlison scoring – and now laying claim to the best two goals at this World Cup after his spectacular volley against the Serbs – along with Vinicius Junior and Lucas Paqueta. Each was followed by a group huddle and a different dance – almost as choreographed as the goals themselves. Even coach Tite joined in. “They have a language which is dancing,” he said, dismissing sour claims that it showed a lack of respect.
The accusation that can be levelled against Brazil is that after the flurry of goals there were signs of selfishness, as Richarlison and Neymar tried to add to their tally, and a touch of showboating. But only after they got the job done with a ruthlessness that will strike fear.
Yes, Alisson was forced into some fine saves as South Korea courageously kept going but no one ever thought Brazil were in danger of throwing this away or did not have a couple of gears to ease through should their opponents have claimed more than their fine, late consolation goal.
Brazil were just too quick and too powerful, as well as too skilful, for the runners-up in Group G, who had finished ahead of Uruguay and Ghana having beaten Portugal in their last tie. That should be the takeaway from this tie. It was summed up in their goals starting with the first, with Vinicius Junior teed up by Raphinha and coolly chipping the ball beyond a despairing raft of South Korean defenders.
Those defenders were panicking and it led to the second goal as Jung Woo-young kicked out wildly with an attempted clearance, catching Richarlison. The penalty was given and Neymar waited calmly, as goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu danced along his line before rolling the ball past him.
The pick of the goals? It was emphatically the third. Richarlison juggled the ball on his head one, two, three, four times, flicked it in the air once, twice and the third time with a pass to Marquinhos on the edge of the penalty area who squared it to Thiago Silva, with the Tottenham forward running over it. Silva threaded it through to Richarlison and he sidefooted home. Wait? Both centre-halves were just outside the South Korean area? It said it all.
The fourth? Brazil countered with Neymar flicking a pass to his left to find Vinicius Junior. As players swarmed into the area he lofted his cross to the onrushing Paqueta who volleyed it home.
South Korea kept going and got their reward when a free-kick was only cleared as far as substitute Paik Seung-ho. Twenty yards out he drove the ball back through a crowd before Tite brought on third-choice goalkeeper Weverton meaning Brazil had used all 26 of their players. It showed their togetherness.
Match details and marks
Brazil (4-2-3-1) Alisson 9 (Weverton, 80); Militao 6, (Dani Alves, 63) Marquinhos 7, Silva 8, Danilo 6 (Bremer, 72); Casemiro 6, Paqueta 7; Raphinha 7, Neymar 8 (Rodrygo, 81), Vinicius Junior 7 (Martinelli, 72); Richarlison 8.
South Korea (4-2-3-1) Kim Seung-gyu 6; Kim Moon-hwan 5, Kim Min-jae 5, Kim Young-gwon 6, Kim Jin-su 5 (Hong Chul, 46); Hwang In-beom 5 (Paik Seung-Hho, 65), Jung Woo-young 6 (Son Jun-ho, 46); Lee Jae-sung 6 (Lee Kang-in, 74) Son Heung-min 7, Hwang Hee-chan 7; Cho Gue-sung 7 (Hwang Ui-jo, 80).
Booked Jung Woo-young.
Referee Clement Turpin (France).
Attendance 43,847.
