Unstoppable Brazil brush past Korea to win friendly 5-1

Football

Published: 02 Jun. 2022, 22:32

Unstoppable Brazil brush past Korea to win friendly 5-1

Korea's Hwang Ui-jo celebrates after scoring against Brazil in a friendly at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo district, western Soul on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Top-ranked Brazil beat Korea 5-1 in a friendly at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul on Thursday, capitalizing on two penalties and a star-studded lineup to take a comfortable victory over an injury-stricken Taeguk Warriors.

Although the game ultimately did not go Korea’s way, the fans packed into Seoul World Cup Stadium were given a reason to celebrate before the whistle even blew as President Yoon Suk-yeol awarded Son Heung-min the Cheongnyong Medal, Korea’s highest sporting honor.

Yoon then stayed by the pitch to greet the players before heading to a box to watch the game.

President Yoon Suk-yeol awards Son Heung-min the Cheongnyong Medal, Korea's highest sporting honor, at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo district, western Soul on Thursday. [NEWS1]

Brazil very nearly pulled ahead in the opening couple of minutes, with Thiago Silva heading a ball into the back of the net only to be ruled offside.

Despite that missed opportunity, it didn’t take the visitors long to get on the board. Richarlison was credited with Brazil’s first goal in the sixth minute, a nice shot from Fred that the Everton striker accidentally deflected into Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu — luckily with enough force that it still bounced into the net.

The onslaught continued, but Korea rallied and managed to hold off a number of opportunities from the ever-dangerous Neymar.

Instead, it was Korea that turned the tables in the 30th minute. A well-placed pass from Hwang Hee-chan found Hwang Ui-jo in the box, with the Bordeaux striker turning around Silva to beat goalkeeper Weverton and fire the ball into the bottom left corner.

Things quietened down again with the score at 1-1, until a messy goalmouth scramble in the 38th minute left both Alex Sandro and Neymar on the floor in the box.

A VAR review revealed that Sandro had been downed after Lee Yong made contact with his foot and not the ball, leaving the referee no choice but to point to the spot. Neymar stepped up to gently tap the penalty past Kim, taking the score to 2-1 to end the half.

Although possession wasn’t too mismatched throughout the first half, Brazil clearly controlled the offensive momentum with 13 shots to Korea’s four. Yet despite that clear edge, the Taeguk Warriors were largely able to hold off the onslaught and keep the game fairly even.

Neymar celebrates after scoring Brazil's third goal in a friendly against Korea at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo district, western Soul on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Brazil’s third goal in the 53rd minute came in very similar circumstances to the second, with a VAR review awarding a penalty after a Kim Young-gwon foul on Casemiro. Neymar once again stepped up to the spot and once again tapped the ball past Kim Seung-gyu.

Korea brought on Jeong Woo-yeong and Kim Moon-hwan for Paik Seung-ho and Lee Yong immediately after the goal, but the new legs weren’t able to do much to stop the bleeding.

With the lead secured, Brazil began rifling through its incredibly strong bench, bringing on Vini Jr and Fabinho, both fresh from the Champions League final, in the 69th minute, Gabriel Jesus and Coutinho in the 77th minute and Bruno Guimarães and Matheus Cunha in the 80th minute.

Those substitutions proved crucial, with Coutinho scoring Brazil’s fourth goal in the 79th minute and Gabriel Jesus adding one more in extra time.

Korea made a few substitutions of their own, bringing on Na Sang-ho and Kwon Chang-hoon for Hwang Ui-jo and Hwang Hee-chan, but the changes were too little and likely too late to make any real impact.

Despite the final 5-1 score, there are still things to celebrate about the Taeguk Warriors performance on Thursday.

Son Heung-min, right, and Neymar congratulate each other at the end of a friendly between Korea and Brazil at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo district, western Soul on Thursday. [YONHAP]

The clash between world No. 29 Korea and world No. 1 Brazil was always going to be a David vs. Goliath fight, with the pure star power in the Brazilian lineup essentially guaranteeing the South American side a win before they even walked onto the pitch.

But Korea were still able to frustrate the Brazilians. The possession divide wasn’t embarrassing, and Korea did plenty to keep the visitors on their toes in the midfield.

There were mistakes, two of which led to penalties that took the score from the understandable to the slightly embarrassing. But spot kicks aside and Korea didn’t hugely underperform, although their inability to string together a successful attack continues to be a concern.

Korea also had to play without a couple of key players, most noticeably regular center back Kim Min-jae, who is recovering from surgery. The absence of Kim, affectionately known as The Monster for his formidable presence on the pitch, was particularly clear in the final 20 minutes of the game as Brazil began to pick apart the Korean defense.

Kim was not the only regular starter missing from Thursday's lineup. Mainz midfielder Lee Jae-sung also had to sit out the friendly after ending the Bundesliga season with a knee injury.

The score also doesn’t give Kim Seung-gyu anywhere near the credit he deserves. Allowing five goals is a difficult pill for any goalkeeper to swallow, but the Kashiwa Reysol keeper single-handedly kept the score from being much worse whilst facing constant pressure from some of the very best strikers in the world.

Korea went into the match looking for a learning opportunity and that’s what they got. Applying those lessons against some more manageable opponents is the next step, and that opportunity comes with three more friendlies over the next two weeks: Against Chile on June 6, Paraguay on June 10 and Egypt on June 14.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]