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You are here: Home / Sports / Monday Afternoon World Cup Open Thread: Brazil vs South Korea

Monday Afternoon World Cup Open Thread: Brazil vs South Korea

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I get the feeling South Korea is officially ‘just happy to have made it this far’, but…

SportsMole:

South Korea will aim to pull off yet another World Cup 2022 shock when they take on five-time champions Brazil in Monday’s last-16 showdown at Stadium 974.

The Selecao finished top of Group G on goal difference, while Paulo Bento’s men stunned Portugal on the final day in Group H to qualify for the knockouts in second place…

Slow starts have been a theme for the five-time champions at the Qatar tournament so far, and they have now gone five World Cup matches without scoring in the first half, which will need to be rectified should they wish to hang on to their favourites tag a little while longer.

Nevertheless, the Selecao have now qualified for the knockout stage of the World Cup for the ninth time in a row, and it has been 32 years since Brazil were last knocked out in the round of 16, suffering a 1-0 defeat to Argentina courtesy of Claudio Caniggia’s strike….

A historic all-Asian quarter-final at the World Cup is now a real possibility following the events of Friday afternoon, where South Korea recovered from Ricardo Horta’s early goal for Portugal to stun the 2016 European champions and advance to the knockout stages.

Neither Uruguay nor Portugal – albeit a heavily altered one – possessed the formula for success against South Korea, who could potentially meet near neighbours Japan in the quarter-finals, although their fellow Asians face their own daunting last-16 clash with Croatia on Monday as well.

The Tigers of Asia have only ever managed to progress beyond the last 16 at the World Cup once, reaching the semi-finals of the 2002 edition amid a wave of officiating controversy, and they locked horns with Brazil as recently as June, but that friendly match ended in a comprehensive 5-1 defeat.

Reader Interactions

33Comments

  2. 2.

    Mart

    Estadio Nacional de Brasília Mané Garrincha costing Brazilians $800M is now used for a bus parking lot. The $300M Arena da Amazonia is being consumed by the adjoining jungle. It is possible FIFA needs some reforming.

  3. 3.

    BC in Illinois

    My grandson, age 1 1/2, has been watching some of the World Cup, when it doesn’t interfere with his nap. On Sunday, his parents were watching some NFL action, to keep up with their fantasy league. Somebody scored a touchdown, the crowd on TV cheered, and g’son yelled out:

    “GOAL!”

  7. 7.

    phdesmond

    Pelé:

    A message to Brazil from Pelé, who will be watching from a Sao Paulo hospital. “In 1958, I walked the streets thinking about fulfilling the promise I made to my father,” he writes on Twitter. “I know that today many have made similar promises and are also going in search of their first World Cup. I’ll be watching the game from hospital and I’ll be rooting for each one of you. Good luck!”

  9. 9.

    Shalimar

    I wonder how many people died building each of these stadiums that will be dismantled after only a handful of games?  And how many more will die dismantling them?   It’s off the scales how banally evil this country is.

  11. 11.

    phdesmond

    GOAL! Brazil 2-0 South Korea (Neymar 13 pen).
    first Vinicius Jr., now Neymar!

    That’s goal number 76 for Neymar in a Brazil shirt, and he’s now only one behind Pelé in the all-time list.

  12. 12.

    Shalimar

    @Mart: How hard would it have been to use all the money on stadiums that would have a home team after the World Cup was over?  I can understand Qatar, because it’s so small they have no need of so many stadiums, but Brazil?

  23. 23.

    JML

    Neymar sucks. I’ve increasingly been down on Brazil as a team in international play by how much diving and crying they do. they’re so skilled, so talented that they can win without begging for fouls and acting like men of Paper. So I hate it when they turn matches into diving competitions.

    But they are just flattening South Korea today. (unsurprisingly, made a meal out of the PK they were awarded in the first half…but it wouldn’t have mattered today)

  26. 26.

    Kent

    @Shalimar:@Mart: How hard would it have been to use all the money on stadiums that would have a home team after the World Cup was over?  I can understand Qatar, because it’s so small they have no need of so many stadiums, but Brazil?

    Exactly.  I don’t think a single new stadium will be built for the North American world cup.  At least not in the US.  I’m sure some will get a remodel and fresh paint but that is about it.

    Why do countries build new stadiums for one event?  Especially countries like Brazil?

    That is more on the countries themselves not FIFA I think.

  27. 27.

    piratedan

    @Kent: gotta believe its part of the grift, think of the payroll and construction grift that would follow and nobody asking questions….

  30. 30.

    Feathers

    @Kent: Some of it is local corruption. Construction companies are promised a stadium contract in an area without one and local authorities sell themselves out for the chance of getting some World Cup tourist action and delude themselves into thinking there will still be games played there after the World Cup.

    There really should be a “no new facilities” rule for World Cup and Olympics, but see previously noted corruption. Hosting the Olympics in New England could have been a great idea, but of course Boston had the stupid idea that it would all be within city limits.  What could have been was Olympic level facilities at colleges throughout the region, which certainly would have been used again for collegiate athletics. Colleges have dorms the athletes could live in. Olympic money could have been spent on regional public transportation infrastructure and large blocks of athlete dorms ready for conversion to much needed apartments after the game.

    I had friends who lived in London during the games. Basically workplaces shut down. My cousin in London came home to Boston. My sister and her family went to London for the Games and had a blast.

    The corruption that ruins these things sucks and needs to end.

  32. 32.

    Mike Furlan

    @JML: “Neymar sucks. I’ve increasingly been down on Brazil as a team in international play by how much diving ”

    Serbia fouled him 9 times and eventually injured him enough for him to miss two games.

    In 2018: Brazil’s talisman striker was fouled more times than any World Cup player in 20 years in their first match.

    Columbia broke his back in 2014.

    Try the reality based world, you might like it.

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