All thanks to goals from Vinicius Junior, Neymar, Richarlison, and Lucas Paqueta, Brazil has qualified for the World Cup quarterfinals after defeating South Korea 4-1.
They largely dominated the match, especially in the first half, with Vinicius scoring the first goal in the round-of-16 match at Qatar’s Stadium 974 on Monday.
After the match, he sent his regards to Pele, while praying the team continued with its victory all the way to the Worldcup finals.
“Let’s hope we can carry on dancing all the way to the final. And we are also sending a big hug to Pele. Let’s hope he recovers quickly.”
Pele, 82 years old, was hospitalized and is recovering after a respiratory disease.
Neymar who recently recovered from an ankle injury during Brazil’s match against Serbia came through for his country with the second goal against South Korea, making it his 76th for his home country. This put him shy short of hitting Pele’s mark of most goals scored in Brazil.
Richarlison de Andrade delivered the third goal while Lucas Tolentino Coelho de Lima, better known as Lucas Paquetá, scored the fourth goal, all within the first half. His goal came after an assist from Neymar and Vinicius.
South Korea’s Paik Seung-Ho scored the fourth goal in the second half, but that was the best they could get as they lost the quest to continue in the 2022 World Cup tournament in Qatar.