Preview: South Korea vs. Brazil - prediction, team news, lineups

Both teams have qualified for the 2022 World Cup, and five-time world champions Brazil will be regarded as one of the favourites to lift the trophy in Qatar.

Match preview

South Korea have been present in each of the last nine World Cups, finishing fourth at the 2002 edition, in addition to the reaching the last-16 stage of the 2010 competition.

The home team picked up 23 points from their 10 World Cup qualification matches to finish second behind Iran in Group A, but they ended their campaign with a 1-0 defeat to UAE at the end of March.

South Korea are set to play four friendlies over the next couple of weeks, taking on Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Egypt, and all four games will be valuable preparation for the upcoming World Cup.

Paulo Bento's side have been drawn in Group H in Qatar, which will see them take on Portugal, Ghana and Uruguay, with their competition opener coming against the latter on November 24.

South Korea's last international friendly was in January, recording a 4-0 win over Moldova, while they beat Lebanon, Syria and Iran in three straight qualification fixtures before losing to UAE last time out.

Brazil, meanwhile, will be bidding to win a sixth World Cup later this year, with Tite's side entering the competition as one of the favourites for the trophy.

Selecao's last triumph in this tournament came back in 2002, reaching the quarter-finals in three of the last four editions, in addition to finishing fourth on home soil in 2014.

There is no question that the South American nation have underperformed in recent World Cups, but they were very strong in their qualification campaign, winning 14 and drawing three of their 17 matches to finish top of the section, six points ahead of second-place Argentina.

Brazil have actually won each of their last three matches 4-0, beating Paraguay, Chile and Bolivia, while they have not been beaten since losing to Argentina in the Copa America final last July.

Thursday's affair will actually be the team's first international friendly since November 2019, when they recorded a 3-0 victory over South Korea courtesy of goals from Lucas Paqueta, Philippe Coutinho and Danilo.

South Korea International Friendlies form:

South Korea form (all competitions):

Brazil International Friendlies form:

Brazil form (all competitions):

Team News

South Korea will be captained by Tottenham Hotspur attacker Son Heung-min, who scored 23 Premier League goals during the 2021-22 campaign.

There is a mixture of youth and experience in their latest squad, and there is also expected to be another representative from the Premier League in the shape of Wolverhampton Wanderers attacker Hwang Hee-chan.

Hwang Ui-jo has scored 14 times in 44 appearances for his country, meanwhile, and the Bordeaux striker is set to lead the line for the home side in this match.

Brazil will need to make checks on Alisson Becker, Eder Militao, Casemiro, Fabinho, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo due to their involvement in Saturday's Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid.

Head coach Tite is expected to shuffle his pack for this contest, with Rodrygo potentially being given a start on the right, while Paqueta could operate as the 10, with Neymar off the left.

Richarlison has now scored 13 times in 34 appearances for his country and is set to lead the line, but Gabriel Jesus is also pushing for a start at centre-forward.

South Korea possible starting lineup:

Seung-gyu; Tae-hwan, Yong, Young-gwon, Jin-su; Chang-hoon, Hee-chan, Woo-young, Sang-ho, Heung-min; Ui-jo

Brazil possible starting lineup:

Ederson; Alves, Marquinhos, T Silva, Telles; Fabinho, Guimaraes; Rodrygo, Paqueta, Neymar; Richarlison

We say: South Korea 1-2 Brazil

Brazil will be the favourites to put a win on the board here, but it is unlikely to be a straightforward match for Tite's side. South Korea will be full of energy and quality, especially in the forward areas, and we can see a close match finishing 2-1 to the visitors.

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