Brazil thrashed South Korea 5-0 in Seoul on Friday, as Chelsea starlet Estevao Willian continues to impress for club and country.
MORE — 2026 World Cup draw | World Cup qualifying latest
Estevao scored early in both halves, Rodrygo added a brace of his own, and Vinicius Junior capped off the scoring as Carlo Ancelotti’s Selecao kept 59% of the ball and out-attempted the hosts 14-4, only allowing a single shot on target to Jin-Gyu Kim.
Estevao now has three goals across eight caps, though his minutes haul only adds up to 279. A goal every 93 minutes isn’t too shabby for an 18-year-old.
Premier League stars rang up assists, too, as Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes put in a Man of the Match caliber performance while Man United’s Matheus Cunha and Casemiro each recorded an assist.
South Korea vs Brazil final score: 0-5
Goal scorers: Estevao Willian 13', 48'; Rodrygo 42', 49'; Vinicius Jr 77'
South Korea team news, focus
Bayern Munich center back Kim Min-jae is in the squad despite struggling with a shoulder injury this week. Kim suffered the injury during Bayern’s 5-1 victory over Pafos in the Champions League last week and subsequently missed the 3-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga over the weekend. Captain Son Heung-min is also in the squad and will make the 13-hour journey from Los Angeles, where he already has 8 goals, 3 assists in 9 appearances for LAFC, to join up with his national side.
Brazil team news, focus
OUT: Marquinhos (not in squad), Raphinha (hamstring), Joao Pedro (not in squad), Alisson (hamstring), Ederson (not in squad), Vanderson (hamstring)
South Korea vs Brazil preview
Brazil finished 5th in CONMEBOL during 2026 World Cup qualifying, but the five-time world champions are headed to next summer’s tournament and their on-field preparations begin with a trip to Seoul to take on South Korea on Friday (7 am ET).
Carlo Ancelotti’s side wound up eight points clear of the inter-confederation playoffs and just one point off 2nd-place Ecuador, but they were beaten six times in 18 games (two more than any other team that qualified). And so, Anceloti was appointed back in May with the campaign close to completion (four games remaining) and a bit of runway to work with before next summer. Notably, Brazil only conceded one goal in Ancelotti’s four qualifiers, a marked improvement after conceding four times to rivals Argentina in Dorival Junior’s last game in charge.
South Korea vs Brazil prediction
Brazil might not do it “the Brazil way” under Ancelotti, but goodness gracious, they are simply not going to concede (m)any goals against most teams in the world. South Korea 0-1 Brazil.
