Brazil thrashed South Korea, led by Heung-min Son, 5-0 in an international friendly in Seoul. Estevao continued his impressive performance with two goals, while Rodrygo also scored twice amidst torrential rain.
The Selecao opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Bruno Guimaraes played a precise pass to Estevao, who then slotted the ball past Jo Hyeon-woo to open the scoring. Brazil doubled their lead through Rodrygo’s brilliant finish, which found the net in the 41st minute.
After the break, a costly mistake by Kim Min-jae allowed Estevao to gain possession on the edge of the box, and the young striker calmly slotted home his second. Minutes later, another defensive error from the hosts allowed Brazil to extend their lead, with Rodrygo equalizing for Estevao with a low shot into the corner.
Vinicius Junior completed his dominant performance late in the match, bursting through the middle on a sharp counter-attack before finishing past Hyeon-woo to complete a clinical performance for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Although Vinicius has faced criticism recently, he clearly didn’t let it affect his performance. In Seoul, he created three chances and scored a stunning solo goal.
Like his compatriot Vinicius, Casemiro has also faced criticism at club level, but his performances have been quite rewarding. The midfielder recorded more touches (117), more passes (109), more accurate passes (98), more passes into the final third (26), and more ball recoveries (8) than any other player.
Both Estevao and Rodygo exceeded their xG (0.72 and 0.7 respectively), scoring two goals each. Estevao also scored with both of his shots.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti praises Brazil’s quality
Ancelotti struggled early in his Brazil tenure, winning two of four matches and struggling to find the right lineup. However, the Selecao displayed much better cohesion in Seoul. “I’m very happy with the team’s performance,” he said. “Of course, if you have a solid foundation, with a solid defense, then the individual quality in attack will shine through.”
The Selecao have a lot of variety in attack, a lot of options, and today we took advantage of the individual qualities of these players. It was a complete performance. I think we played very well with and without the ball. The team bond was very good. When a team is united in the game, its quality is revealed, and today they played very well.
Estevao, 18, opened the scoring after a combination play from inside his own half. “The key to this match was the first goal, because Korea started to defend with a block in the middle, pressing our defense,” said Ancelotti. “Estevao’s first goal opened up a little space for the Korean defense, and then we had more control in the attacking phase.”
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) is reportedly planning to extend the Italian’s contract before the 2026 World Cup, but Ancelotti appeared unconcerned and continued to talk about the victory in Seoul: “Since I arrived here, I have always talked about the collective bond. That is the foundation, and when the team has this foundation, we have many possibilities to do things well.”