Two goals each from Estevao and Rodrygo powered Brazil to a 5-0 win over South Korea in Seoul on Friday in an early warm-up for next year’s World Cup.
Brazil, which beat South Korea 4-1 at the 2022 World Cup, again proved too strong for the hosts in the friendly match watched by 66,000 fans at a wet Seoul World Cup Stadium. Brazil claimed just its third win in 12 away games.
Brazil, which finished fifth in qualifying for the 2026 tournament to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Bruno Guimaraes split the Korean defense with a pass to Estevao. The Chelsea forward slotted home from close range. Seven minutes later, Casemiro had a goal disallowed for offside, and Rodrygo’s low shot before the half-hour mark was saved by goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo.
Four minutes before halftime, Brazil doubled its lead with a well-worked move. Casemiro found Rodrygo inside the box, and the Real Madrid star curled a shot into the bottom corner to make it 2-0.
Two minutes into the second half, Estevao added his second after pouncing on a mistake by Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae near the edge of the area. Rodrygo struck again soon after, converting unmarked from inside the box to make it 4-0.
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His Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Junior completed the scoring in the 77th minute, sealing a dominant performance for the five-time world champions.
“Satisfaction comes from the collective team play as if you build a strong base with a solid defensive team the individual quality up front will show,” said Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti, who was hired in May. “Today it worked very well because Rodrygo played a very good game, Estevao as well.”
“At the World Cup, we’ll have to face teams with solid defenses, and our players showed they can overcome this with individual abilities,” Ancelotti said.
It was a miserable evening for the hosts, who barely troubled the Brazilian backline.
“We learned a lot by facing a strong team in the process of preparing for the World Cup,” South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo said. “I’m sorry we couldn’t deliver a good result for the many fans who came in bad weather … we showed shortcomings which we will address moving forward.”
On Tuesday, Brazil will face Japan, which drew 2-2 with Paraguay earlier Friday.
Miguel Almiron opened the scoring in Osaka in the 21st minute before Koki Ogawa equalized soon after. Diego Gomez restored Paraguay’s lead just after the hour, but Ayase Ueda salvaged a draw for the hosts with a 94th-minute goal.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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