Brazil vs South Korea - World Cup: Team news, lineups & prediction
Five-time champions Brazil face South Korea in their round of 16 tie on Monday evening.
With qualification already secured, Tite made nine changes to the starting XI that squeaked past Switzerland for Brazil's final group game. The rotated team - still littered with quality - fell to a stoppage-time winner from Cameroon's Vincent Aboubakar, but remained top of Group G.
South Korea found themselves on the right side of a late goal, defeating group winners Portugal in the 91st-minute to sneak ahead of Uruguay by virtue of goals scored.
Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming knockout tie between this pair.
Where are Brazil vs South Korea playing?
- Location: Doha, Qatar
- Stadium: Stadium 974
- Date: Monday 5 December
- Kick-off Time: 19:00 GMT / 14:00 ET / 11:00 PT
Brazil vs South Korea H2H Results (All Time)
- Brazil: 6 Wins
- South Korea: 1 Win
- Draws: 0
Current Form (Last Five Games)
- Brazil: WWWWL
- South Korea: WWDLW
Brazil team news
Brazil may have lost but Tite's wholesale changes proved prescient as two of the alternate XI were forced off with fitness concerns against Cameroon. Alex Telles and Gabriel Jesus both damaged their right knees during a game Brazil dominated. There are fears that neither may feature again at this tournament.
There are "high expectations" that Danilo will be available after injuring his ankle in Brazil's opening game against Serbia. Neymar limped off that night with a problem in the same area while Alex Sandro has been struggling with a hip issue.
Brazil's team doctor, Rodrigo Lasmar, revealed that doubts linger over the involvement of that latter duo as they wait to resume training.
Brazil predicted lineup against South Korea
Brazil starting 11 (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Militao, Silva, Marquinhos, Danilo; Fred, Casemiro; Raphinha, Rodrygo, Vinicius; Richarlison.
Bench: Ederson, Alves, Bremer, Fabinho, Antony, Martinelli, Weverton, Guimaraes, Everton, Paqueta, Pedro.
South Korea team news
Hwang Hee-chan missed South Korea's first two World Cup matches with a hamstring injury he hadn't fully recovered from by the team's final group game. The Wolves forward came off the bench to score the last-gasp winner but remains a doubt for Monday's starting XI. "It was still a risk for me to play today," Hwang revealed after the match, "but I don’t care what happens to me physically.”
Kim Min-jae wasn't risked against Portugal as he continues to nurse a calf problem which the Korean Football Association described as "not a big injury".
Kim Young-gwon hauled South Korea level against Portugal but is a doubt after limping off in the final ten minutes of Friday's match.
South Korea predicted lineup vs Brazil
South Korea starting 11 (4-3-3): Kim Seung-gyu; Kim Moon-hwan, Kwon Kyung-wan, Kim Min-jae, Kim Jin-su; Hwang In-beom, Jung Woo-young, Lee Kang-in; Lee Jae-sung, Cho Gue-sung, Son Heung-min.
Bench: Son B, Cho H W, Yoon, Paik, Hwang H C, Son J H, Hong, Hwang U J, Na, Kwan C H, Kim T H, Cho Y.
Brazil vs South Korea betting tips
Brazil to win to nil – Eight of Brazil’s last 10 victories in all competitions have come to nil.
Brazil clean sheet – Brazil restricted their opponents to just three shots on target in the group stages and have kept a clean sheet in 10 of the last 12 games Marquinhos has started.
Under 2.5 total match goals – Only Tunisia (2), USA (3) and Belgium’s (3) group stage matches saw
fewer goals than Brazil’s (4), with none of their three games seeing more than two total goals.
Under 2.5 total match goals is currently 10/11*
Both teams to score? Yes – South Korea have scored in five of their last six games in all competitions, while Brazil have scored in 10 of their last 11.
Brazil to score first – Brazil have scored first in six of their last eight World Cup games, while South Korea have conceded first in nine of their last 12 matches at the tournament.
South Korea to score first half? No – 11 of South Korea’s last 12 goals at the World Cup have been scored in the second half of games, with four of the last seven being scored in the 90th minute or later.
Richarlison anytime scorer & 2+ shots on target – Richarlison has scored eight goals in his last six starts for Brazil, registering exactly two attempts on target in six of his last eight starts for the national side.
Richarlison to score for Brazil anytime is currently 15/8*
10+ match corners – All three of Brazil’s games at the 2022 World Cup have seen 10+ corners (11.7 per game on average), while Korea Republic’s games have averaged exactly 11 corners so far.
South Korea 2+ cards – South Korea have received exactly two yellows in each of their last two games, while Brazil’s opponents were shown 3+ cards in two of their three group stages matches.
Insights courtesy of Opta. Head to The Analyst Stats Hub for live group stage standings, top scores, match metrics, team stats and much more!
*Odds correct at time of publication. 18+. Please gamble responsibly. BeGambleAware.org
Brazil vs South Korea score prediction
Brazil's veteran fullback Dani Alves labelled his side's surprise defeat to Cameroon "a warning signal". In reaction to the klaxon that loss sounded, Tite may well revert to the side which prevented Serbia and Switzerland from a single attempt on target.
Paulo Bento's side started the tournament without a shot on goal against Uruguay and may again struggle against a Brazil side which has proven to be more functional than flair-ridden so far.
Son Heung-min warned: "No-one knows the world of football, especially now," after downing Portugal. While that is entirely true, the best guess points towards a Brazilian win.
Prediction: Brazil 2-0 South Korea
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