South Korea 0-5 Brazil: Estevao and Rodrygo net braces in demolition

Brazil swept past Son Heung-min's South Korea with a commanding 5-0 victory in Friday’s international friendly.

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 their 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.

Data Debrief: Vinicius and Casemiro answer critics

While Vinicius has been subject to criticism in recent times, he clearly did not let that impact his performance here, creating three chances, the most of any player on the pitch, as well as scoring with a superb solo effort. 

Like his compatriot Vinicius, Casemiro has also been in receipt of reproval at club level, but his display here went some way to answering his critics.

The midfielder posted the most touches (117), passes (109), accurate passes (98), passes in the final third (26) and possession recoveries (eight) of any player. 

Both Estevao and Rodygo outperformed their xG (0.72 and 0.7, respectively), netting two goals apiece. Estevao also found the back of the net from both of his two shots.