At 3 a.m. on December 6, Beijing time, the 1/8 finals of the Qatar World Cup between Brazil and South Korea started. Before this game, the media and fans focused on whether Neymar could successfully recover from injury. When the starting lineup for the game was announced, the hearts of all Brazilian fans finally settled - Neymar started, and the main left back Danilo also returned. However, according to French "L'Equipe", Neymar has not fully recovered. He is still undergoing anti-inflammatory treatment before the game. Neymar's injured ankle against the South Korean team had to be sprayed with painkillers to relieve the pain.

Neymar in the match against South Korea, according to ICphoto

Brazil coach Tite also knows very well that as the World Cup enters the knockout stage, there cannot be any mistakes. Therefore, as long as Neymar can meet the minimum requirements for playing, he will not let the team's offensive core continue to sit on the sidelines. As a result, Neymar's comeback revived the Brazilian team, which was tepid on the offensive end in the group stage. They led the South Korean team by 4 goals in the first half and locked their ticket to the top 8 early. Neymar also scored through a penalty kick, bringing his total number of World Cup goals to 7, second only to Ronaldo, Messi, Mbappe and Muller among active players.

Many fans were worried before the game

Whether the South Korean team adopted "killing tactics" against Neymar

As for Neymar's comeback, South Korean team coach Paul Bento He also showed a helpless attitude before the game. He said: "If we say it is better to let Neymar play, then we would be too hypocritical!"

The outside world is also paying close attention to South Korea in this early morning game. How will the team defend Neymar? After the first group match of the World Cup in Qatar, "Korea's little move" became a hot topic on social media. In that match against Uruguay, although the South Korean team tied its opponent, the Korean players' actions such as pulling, pushing, locking necks, and flying tackles aroused heated discussions among fans.

Neymar celebrates his goal with his teammates. According to ICphoto

The players of the Korean team have always been known for their fighting spirit on the field, but their active fighting has resulted in a large number of fouls. As early as the 1986 World Cup against Argentina, Maradona was tackled by South Korean players and rolled all over the field. The media at the time commented: "Maradona was knocked down by the Koreans again and again like a felled tree."

So before the start of the 1/8 finals between Brazil and South Korea, the famous football commentator Duan Xuan said on his personal social media: "If Neymar plays in this game, I will still be worried. The South Korean team is very worried. I will violate him at all costs, but I hope he won’t get injured again.”

Neymar only played one group match in this World Cup and was fouled 9 times, which also set a World Cup record. He set a record for a player being violated in a single game, and paid the price of a serious ankle injury and missing two consecutive rounds of the group stage. In the past three World Cups, Neymar has been the player with the most fouls - 53 times!

Lagged behind by a big margin at halftime

The Koreans did not care about "strangling" Neymar

But the worries of these fans seemed to be unnecessary. In the early morning game this morning, Neymar was actually only brought down from behind by a South Korean player in the 9th minute. Before that, the Brazilian team had just passed a quick side-center combination, and Vinicius scored. During this goal, Neymar connected in the middle to attract the opponent's defensive forces, and transitioned the ball to the feet of Vinicius, who was unmarked at the back point.

Soon, Rissarisson created another penalty kick opportunity. Neymar took the penalty and scored. This was his first goal in this World Cup. His total number of goals in the World Cup reached 7. indivual. At the same time, Neymar has also become the third player in the history of Brazilian football to score goals in three World Cups. The first two are Pele and Ronaldo!

What’s interesting is that after Neymar scored, in addition to dancing with his teammates, he also ran to the edge of the stands to imitate Neymar, who has been popular on various video platforms recently. "Oliver celebrated with a hug. This drama of "real and fake Neymar combined" will definitely become a good story in the World Cup.

Neymar and "Neymar imitator" Oliver celebrate according to Visual China

Falling behind by two goals in the first 10 minutes, the Brazilian team's blitz forced the Koreans to press hard. They have no intention of implementing the so-called "strangling" tactics of Neymar. As a result, the Korean team, which was overwhelmed, was calmly counterattacked by five-star Brazil. Afterwards, the Brazilian team scored two more goals from Rissarisson and Paqueta. Neymar also played an important role in planning and organization in the fourth goal.

With a big lead, Tite did not replace Neymar at halftime. He obviously hoped that through this game, Neymar could regain the feeling of the game as much as possible. Neymar is also constantly adjusting his condition. In the 61st minute, his beautiful through ball almost helped Raphinha expand the lead again. Unfortunately, the latter's shot was blocked by South Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-kyu. It wasn't until the 80th minute that Tite replaced Neymar with Rodrygo.

In fact, Neymar has obviously not reached his best state in this game, but even so, he still made the Brazilian team's offense smoother and more blossoming. This may be the reason. This is the most "scary" thing about the Brazilian team - how far can a Neymar who is at his peak and trying his best on the court help the Brazilian team go?

Red Star News reporter Jiang Shan intern Sun Yanrong

Editor-in-charge Ren Zhijiang and editor Ou Peng

Extended reading:

The fall of the "Two Heroes in Asia" Defeated, Brazil and Croatia met in the quarter-finals

Reporter | Lin Silin

On December 5, 2022, Beijing time, the Qatar World Cup quarter-finals continued, Croatia 4-2 Japan , Brazil 4-1 South Korea. In the end, the "Asian duo" missed the quarterfinals of the World Cup; Croatia and Brazil successfully advanced, and the two teams will meet in the quarter-finals.

1/8 Finals: Croatia 4-2 Japan

This is the third meeting between Japan and Croatia in the World Cup. The previous two matches were in the group stage in 1998 and 2006. , the Japanese team lost 0-1 and tied 0-0 respectively, neither winning nor scoring a goal. This is also Croatia's only match against an Asian team in the World Cup.

This matchup is the first game in the knockout stage of this World Cup to enter overtime and be decided by a penalty shootout.

In the 44th minute of the first half, Maya Yoshida hit the ball in front of the goal from behind. Gvadiol failed to intercept, and Daran Maeda took advantage of the corner kick to score, and Japan led 1-0. This is the first time Japan has taken the lead in this World Cup.

In the 56th minute of the second half, Lovren made a precise arc pass to the penalty area. Perisic jumped up and headed the ball to equalize the score.

Perisic thus became the fourth player to score in the past three World Cups, following Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Shaqiri. In addition, this is also Perisic's 10th goal in international competitions on behalf of the Grizzlies, becoming the first player in team history to score in double figures in a competition.

The two sides drew 1-1 during regular time and entered the first overtime of this World Cup. Neither side failed to score in the 30 minutes of overtime. After 120 minutes of fierce fighting, the Qatar World Cup entered the first penalty shootout. This was also the 31st penalty shootout in the history of the World Cup.

In the first round of the penalty shootout, Minamino Takumi took a penalty shot from the right side of the goal but was saved by Livakovic. Vlasic hit the shot from the left side of the goal, Croatia 1-0. In the second round, San_Xun hit the lower left corner of the goal and was saved again. Brozovic succeeded in hitting the middle, Croatia 2-0. In the third round, Asano Takuma scored with a blast with his right foot, Livaja hit the post, Japan 1-2. In the fourth round, Maya Yoshida's penalty kick was saved again, and Pasalic took the penalty kick successfully.

In the end, Croatia won the penalty shootout 3-1 and eliminated Japan with a total score of 4-2 to enter the quarterfinals.

Livakovic saved three penalty kicks in the penalty shootout and became the best player of the game. He was also the third goalkeeper in the history of the World Cup to achieve this achievement.

Including this game, Japan has advanced from the group stage to the top 16 of the World Cup five times, previously in 1998, 2002, 2010 and 2018, including reaching the World Cup finals in 1998.

The Japanese team performed well in the group stage of this World Cup. They reversed the former World Cup champions Germany and Spain 2-1 in a row and qualified first in the group. However, in this game, the Japanese team ultimately failed to rewrite the team history record of the past 24 years and once again stopped in the top 16.

This is the third time Croatia has appeared in the World Cup round of 16. Previously, whether it defeated Romania 1-0 in 1998 or eliminated Denmark on penalty kicks in 2018, Croatia has successfully advanced and won the World Cup runner-up and third place.

In this game, Croatia staged a reversal similar to the one in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. At that time, Croatia, which conceded a goal first in the semifinals, eventually reversed and eliminated England 2-1.

1/8 Finals: Brazil 4-1 South Korea

In the previous 21 World Cups, the Brazilian team won the Hercules Cup 5 times, making it the team with the most wins.

This is the 11th time South Korea has participated in the World Cup, and the third time it has reached the knockout rounds. Before that, they were in 2002 and 2010. In 2002, the South Korean team reached the semi-finals.

In the past seven international friendly matches between the two sides, Brazil achieved 6 wins and 1 loss, scoring 16 goals and conceding only 5 goals.

The Brazilian team was no exception in this game and had every advantage.

At the end of the half, Brazil led South Korea 4-0. In the 7th minute, Venicius was unmarked from the back and shot the goal. This is also Venicius' first personal World Cup goal. In the 11th minute, Neymar took a penalty kick and scored the first goal of this tournament. In the 17th minute, Huang Xican took a long shot from the outside and was resolved by Alisson with one palm.

In the 29th minute, Risaarison received an assist from Thiago Silva in the penalty area and shot the ball into the net. This was Risaarison's third goal in this World Cup. In the 37th minute, Venicius assisted and Paqueta scored with a push, scoring his first goal in this tournament.

The game changed sides again. In the 76th minute, Bai Hao shot a volley from outside the penalty area and scored a point, but the South Korean team's defeat could not be reversed.

At the end of the game, Brazil 4-1 South Korea, successfully advanced to the quarterfinals of the Qatar World Cup, and will face Croatia in the quarter-finals.