Brazil send ominous message to World Cup contenders with last-16 display full of swagger

For 45 minutes, this felt less like a World Cup knockout match and more like an exhibition from Brazil, who delivered a first-half display of individual and collective brilliance which should genuinely strike fear into the other favourites in Qatar.

The five-time winners were expected to comfortably beat South Korea but it was not so much a 4-1 win but the manner, or more specifically the swagger, of their performance which was so ominous for Croatia, who they meet in Friday’s quarter-final, and their other rivals.

Speaking from hospital on the eve of the game, Pele had said he wanted to “inspire” his successors in the famous yellow jersey and Tite’s players could scarcely have honoured him more appropriately in a first-half brimming with style and skill.

It included another goal of the tournament contender for Richarlison which will surely go down as one the great Brazil team goals, as well as sublime finishes by Vinicius Junior and Lucas Paqueta.

Even Neymar’s penalty to make it 2-0 had a touch of flair, Brazil’s talisman weaving and snaking in his run-up before rolling the ball casually to the goalkeeper’s left.

All four goals were greeted by jubilant, almost over-the-top celebrations, often involving every outfield player and the bench. Richarlison even marked his goal by doing ‘the Pigeon’ dance with Tite. This is a team having fun and honouring their country’s great traditions as entertainers.

The celebrations and the manner of Brazil’s play in the final third also spoke to their togetherness. This is not a side built to massage the ego of Neymar, who returned to the side after after limping out of their opening game against Serbia, but rather a team which knows it has multiple ways to score.

The standout moment and one that will be replayed over and over again was Richarlison’s goal to make it 3-0 and kill off a South Korea side who appeared dazed by the speed and ingenuity of Brazil’s early attacks, but never let their heads drop.

The Tottenham forward has already scored a goal-of-the-tournament contender with an acrobatic scissor kick against Serbia but if that was simply a stunning solo goal, this one was down to both individual and collective brilliance.

Richarlison juggled the ball on his head three times before flicking it away from a defender and zipping a pass into the feet of Marquinhos. The defender squared to Thiago Silva, who picked out Richarlison’s run into the box, where Brazil’s No.9 rolled it into the bottom corner.

It will be hard to top, even for Tite’s side, and Stadium 974 is unlikely to witness anything like it again, not least because this was the final game before it will be dismantled.

By that point, Brazil already led 2-0. Vinicius Junior opened the scoring in the seventh-minute with a cute finish after great skill by Raphinha and a rare Neymar air-kick.

The Paris St-Germain star got his goal from the spot a few minutes later when Richarlison was fouled by Jung Woo-young -- it was soft -- and Paqueta added a fourth before half-time, the West Ham coolly volleying home Vinicius’ cross after a quick counter-attack.

The scoreline should really have been more one-sided, and goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu denied Richarlison in first-half stoppage-time and twice made blocks from Raphinha after the break.

England, Argentina, Spain, Croatia and the rest would have been watching, presumably marvelling like the rest of us at the verve of some of Brazil’s football.

But if there is a hope, it is that Brazil are not infallible defensively, and South Korea deservedly hit back in the second half, substitute Paik Seung-ho scoring a brilliant long-range screamer after a free-kick had only been half-cleared.

It was not entirely out of keeping with the pattern of the match, and Alisson made three excellent one-handed saves, twice denying Hwang Hee-chan and once Heung-min Son.

Alisson also blocked an effort from the Wolves forward at the near post after he had burst round a static Brazil defender to the byline.

The Liverpool goalkeeper’s second save from Hwang with 20 minutes to play was particularly impressive, before Marquinhos twice blocked Son’s efforts at a follow up.

South Korea deserved their late consolation goal, and certainly their group of supporters, dancing and singing to a constant drum-beat, deserved to see their side score.

By that point in the game, though Brazil had eased off and the second half was played at half the pace of the first, as Tite’s side conserved energy for the tests to come.

That is another reason for Croatia, who went the distance against Japan in the earlier game, to be fearful but on this evidence they will not be the only ones.