Brazil crushes Korea after five-star display
Brazil swept past Son Heung-min's Korea Republic with a commanding 5-0 victory an international friendly on Friday (AEDT).
Chelsea’s Estevao continued his superb form with a brace, while Real Madrid’s Rodrygo also struck twice in rain-soaked Seoul.
The Selecao opened the scoring inside 14 minutes when Bruno Guimaraes threaded a precise pass into Estevao’s path, the 18-year-old firing past Jo Hyeon-woo to make it 1-0.
Casemiro had the ball in the net moments later but was ruled offside. However, Brazil soon doubled its lead, with Rodrygo arrowing a clinical finish into the bottom-right corner in the 41st minute.
After the break, a costly mistake from Kim Min-jae gifted Estevao possession on the edge of the area, and the young forward coolly slotted home his second of the match.
Minutes later, another defensive lapse from the hosts allowed Brazil to strike again, as Rodrygo matched Estevao’s tally with a low, driven effort into the same corner, almost a carbon copy of his earlier goal.
Vinicius Junior rounded off a dominant display late on, bursting from halfway on a blistering counter-attack before slotting past Jo to cap a clinical performance from Carlo Ancelotti’s men.
"I think it's always important to first maintain a solid defence where everyone defends, everyone helps, and little by little the attack starts to work, and that's what happened today," Rodrygo said after the match.
"I'm very happy about the victory, and my individual performance as well. Now I have to continue like this, after the two goals.
"I was warned to treat these two friendlies as if they were [FIFA] World Cup finals. That's what I tried to do today.
"Everything went well. I'm happy with the goals and the performance.
"I think the team's performance makes me happier than my own goals, to see that the team is evolving and growing. I think we're on a great path to the [FIFA] World Cup."