Key events
Table of Contents
FULL TIME: Brazil 4-1 South Korea
The tournament favourites will play Croatia in the quarter-finals on Friday!
90 min +3: Dani Alves drags a long-distance shot wide left.
90 min +2: Richarlison goes off on a meander down the left to run the clock down.
90 min +1: The first of four added minutes flies by without incident.
90 min: Hwang Hee-chan has been impressive all night, and here he races along the inside-right channel, taking down a long pass with a feathery touch, before slamming a shot into the side netting.
89 min: Martinelli dribbles in from the left, then stands one up for Dani Alves at the far post. Alves volleys a bicycle kick goalwards, but it’s blocked bravely by Hong. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
87 min: One of the passes of the evening as Kim Young-gwon creams a diagonal pass towards Son Jun-ho on the left touchline. Son’s cross is no good, but what a lovely raking ball that was.
85 min: Kim Seung-gyu knocks a clearance straight at Rodrygo, and is very lucky that the Brazilian striker over-elaborates with Richarlison. The Brazilian pair should have combined to make it five.
83 min: Hwang Hee-chan slips a pass down the right channel for Lee Kang-in, who whistles a low cross through an unpopulated six-yard box.
81 min: That’s Cho’s last contribution tonight. He’s replaced by Hwang Ui-jo. It’s also the end of the evening for Alisson, who makes way for third-choice keeper Weverton. Tite making sure that everyone in the squad contributes at some point, a nice touch. He also replaces Neymar with Rodrygo.
80 min: Kim Min-jae shovels a pass down the inside-right channel and releases Cho into the Brazil box! He’s one on one with Alisson, who turns his shot around the post. Then the flag goes up for offside anyway. Another goal there would have made things interesting.
78 min: As bad as South Korea have been defensively tonight, their attack has been in good nick. That consolation is no more than they deserve.
GOAL! Brazil 4-1 South Korea (Paik 76)
A free kick for South Korea out on the right. Everyone lines up on the edge of the box. The sub Lee swings it in. Brazil half clear. Paik takes a touch on the edge of the D and rifles a rising shot through the box and into the top-right corner. A slight deflection, and Alisson has no chance whatsoever!
74 min: Lee Jae-sung is replaced by Lee Kang-in.
72 min: Brazil make a double change. Vinicius Junior and Danilo make way for Martinelli and Bremer. “I’m all for England doing a choreographed samba dance routine after scoring,” writes Stephen Mitchell. “Just imagine the likes of Harry Maguire, Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane, and Jordan Pickford having a go at it. Even better, imagine how well it would go down if they did their dance routine only to go on to lose to France! Would be great to get Graeme Souness’s opinion on it.”
70 min: South Korea could feasibly have scored two or three goals themselves tonight. The Brazilian defence hasn’t exactly looked watertight.
68 min: Alisson is forced into another magnificent save! Hwang Hee-chan strides in from the right and pearls a shot towards the bottom left. Alisson sticks out a strong arm. The ball then pings off the prone Gue-Sung Cho and eventually pinballs out for a goal kick … and then the flag goes up for offside. Alisson is having a magnificent game.
66 min: Raphinha tears down the right, reaches the byline and cuts back for Richarlison on the penalty spot. Richarlison can’t connect, then the flag goes up for offside. South Korea continue to give up chance after chance; they’re very lucky that Brazil have dropped the intensity in this second half.
65 min: Hwang In-beom is replaced by Paik.
63 min: Before it can be taken, Dani Alves comes on for Militao. Then the corner, and it wasn’t worth the wait.
62 min: South Korea press forward again. Casemiro intercepts and launches a counter with a cheeky backflick. Neymar and Vinicius Jr combine to release Raphinha into the box from the right. He slams goalwards but cant get past Kim Seung-gyu. Corner.
60 min: South Korea commit quite a few men to an attack and ship possession. Neymar and Vinicius Jr don’t punish them on the counter this time, but the Koreans, in understandable search of a consolation, continue to ask for trouble.
58 min: Nothing comes of the corner.
57 min: … but Raphinha takes it instead, and flicks it off the wall and out for a corner on the left. “Every time the camera cuts to Gianni Infantino, he looks bored,” reports Kári Tulinius. “Say what you will about Sepp Blatter, at least he always looked thrilled to be at a World Cup match. It would explain a lot if Infantino just didn’t much care for football.”
56 min: Now it’s the other sub’s turn to panic, as Son Jun-ho needlessly shoves Neymar to the ground 25 yards from goal. Neymar’s eyes light up as he prepares to take the free kick.
54 min: Raphinha sashays into the Korean box from the right, twisting the new left-back Hong’s blood. What a dribble. He steers a shot across Kim Seung-gyu and towards the bottom left. It’s going in, but the keeper makes a wonderful save with the fingertips.
52 min: Hwang Hee-chan slips a clever reverse ball down the inside-right channel for Son to chase. But Son doesn’t respond, allowing Danilo to intercept and clear. South Korea have actually looked pretty lively in attack this evening. Alisson has had to make a couple of big saves.
50 min: So if all the gilt-edged chances in first-half injury time and the first five minutes of the second half had been taken, the score would now be 8-1.
49 min: Belated news of two half-time changes for South Korea. Jung and Kim Jin-su have been replaced by Hong and Son Jun-ho.
47 min: Son catches Marquinhos faffing around, and suddenly he’s tearing clear down the inside-left channel. He enters the box and really should score, but as he aims for the top right, Alisson sticks out a strong arm and deflects the ball out for a corner, from which nothing comes.
45 min 24 sec: Raphinha strides down the right and looks for the bottom left. He doesn’t catch it well and it’s easy for Kim Seung-gyu to save.
The South American Partick Thistle get the second half underway. No changes. “Yes, I’m fast turning into a miserable, curmudgeonly grumpy old man,” admits Andrew Goudie, “but these ridiculous Brazil celebrations are getting on my nerves. What’s wrong with a manly handshake and a jog back to the centre circle? Yellow cards all round if I were the ref.”
Cowdenbeath are nicknamed Blue Brazil, so it’s only fair Scottish football gives a little something back to the seleção. Here’s Adam Simpson explaining why Brazil “are known as the South American Partick Thistle (at least since I made that up about five minutes ago). This is extremely reminiscent of the 1971 Scottish League Cup final when Partick had four shots in the first half and went in 4-0 up against Jock Stein’s all-conquering Celtic side. What chance South Korea making a comeback?”
Half-time Pelé-infused entertainment.
HALF TIME: Brazil 4-0 South Korea
Brazil have been sensational. You’d call it sexy samba football if you hadn’t witnessed them dance. South Korea have been completely shambolic at the back, mind.
45 min +4: On ITV, Ally McCoist, who knows a thing or two about goalscoring, is fuming as a result of all these missed chances. He’d have had a three-minute hat-trick in added time.
45 min +3: Richarlison romps in acres down the right. He enters the box, one on one with the keeper. Kim kicks away, a fine save. The ball breaks to Neymar, who can’t adjust his body in time to trundle into the unguarded net. Goal kick.
45 min +2: Vinicius Jr sends a ball through the six-yard box from the left. Raphinha should stoop to head home, but opts for the high-kick instead. He swishes fresh air.
45 min +1: Brazil paint more pretty triangles down the right, and suddenly Paqueta is one on one with Kim Seung-Gyu, albeit from a tight angle. He tries to flick across the keeper with his left foot. Had he taken it with his right, he’d surely have scored.
45 min: There will be five added minutes.
44 min: Jung is booked for waving an arm in Raphinha’s face. “Do you think England should start doing a little Morris dance after scoring?” wonders Anthony Speet. Make it happen, Gareth. Please make it happen.
42 min: Son goes down and rips off his protective face mask. But there’s no need for concern, he’s not aggravated his damaged eye socket. He’s just been winded in an accidental collision with Marquinhos, and is flailing about in temporary discomfort. He’s up again soon enough.
41 min: McCoist now points out the bigger picture viewers can’t see on their TV screens: that South Korea are repeatedly leaving themselves in three-versus-three situations at the back. Asking for trouble.
39 min: Hwang Hee-chan runs slap-bang into the back of Militao and claims a penalty kick. He’s not getting one. Poor Hwang; he’s been excellent in taking it to Brazil, but events down the other end have somewhat overshadowed his contribution.
38 min: On ITV, national treasure Ally McCoist posits the theory that South Korea’s attack-minded formation may not have paid full dividend.