Brazil send a warning: thumping win over South Korea | OneFootball

Brazil, led by Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, played its best match in a long time this Friday and thrashed South Korea 5-0, with braces from Estêvão and Rodrygo, in a friendly preparing for the 2026 World Cup.

Estêvão opened the scoring in the 13th minute, after a great team play that Brazil started in its own box, a prelude to the dominant performance the Canarinha delivered during their visit to Seoul’s World Cup Stadium.

The young Chelsea winger struck again in the 47th, while Rodrygo scored in the 41st and 49th minutes, and Vinícius Júnior completed the tally in the 77th.

In the starting lineup, Ancelotti introduced some changes with the returns of Real Madrid players Rodrygo and Éder Militão. The center-back, who had played his last previous match with Brazil in July 2024, overcame two serious injuries that even made him consider retirement, as the player himself acknowledged this week.

A long sequence of passes that Brazil began to string together in their own area, involving nine of their players including goalkeeper Bento, ended with a fantastic deep pass from Bruno Guimarães for Estêvão to make it 1-0. The Veredeamarela enjoyed possession, although the next goal took some time to arrive.

It came when Vini attacked down the wing and passed the ball to Casemiro, who assisted Rodrygo.

After the break, two turnovers by South Korea under Brazil’s pressure led to two more goals for the South American giant: Estêvão stole the ball and finished himself against goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo, and shortly after, it was Rodrygo’s turn again.

Amid a carousel of substitutions typical of matches like this, the hosts seemed to improve. Then, Brazil resorted to counterattacks to seal the rout through Vinícius.

It was the ninth match between the Canarinha and South Korea, with a record of eight wins and one loss. Next Tuesday, the Brazilian team will face Japan in Tokyo.

The friendlies in Asia are part of Ancelotti’s plan to face different styles of play ahead of next year’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

In November, in London and Paris, they will play against African teams yet to be confirmed, and in March they hope to take on European opponents.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.