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Son Heung-min of Korea’s national soccer team reacts after a mid-range shot fails to play out during a friendly match with Brazil’s national team on June 2 at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. (Yonhap News)

Despite his best efforts, Son Heung-min (Tottenham) didn’t get many passes that would let him penetrate. That was how thoroughly Brazil screened him.

Brazil’s masterful offense left the Korean national football team, helmed by Paulo Bento, with the task of patching up its defense.

In a friendly match Thursday at Seoul World Cup Stadium, the Korean team lost to Brazil 1–5, despite one goal by Hwang Ui-jo (Bordeaux). Korea’s all-time record against Brazil is one win and six losses.

The Korean team, ranked 29th by FIFA, came out swinging against top-ranked Brazil on Thursday.

With global football stars like Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) and Richarlison (Everton) on its roster, Brazil is a step up from the team Korea played in the final round of Asian qualifiers for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Along with their outstanding individual talent, the Brazilian players were on a different level in their use of space, penetration, hustle and pressure.

Bento countered Brazil with build-up and possession. But Brazil applied pressure by passing the ball from the goalkeeper to the strikers at the front. Korean players did their best to move the ball forward, but it wasn’t easy to reach striking distance.

The Korean team’s crisis grew more palpable after Richarlison scored the first goal six minutes into the first half. After Alex Sandro (Juventus) reached the goal area, two passes connected to leave Korea one point down.

With spirits high on the Brazil side, pressure from forwards like Neymar, Richarlison and Raphinha (Leeds United) kept Korea against the ropes.

The stadium was packed with 64,872 people cheering for the Korean team, but Son Heung-min struggled to apply his skills. Even when he went deep, the ball rarely reached him from the other side of the field. The Brazilian players made a point of blocking access to him.

A shooting opportunity came to Hwang Ui-jo at the 30th minute of the first half. The assist came from Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), who had boldly gone toe to toe with Brazilian players. Slipping into the penalty arc, Hwang Hee-chan sent the ball flying to Hwang Ui-jo, with the defenders facing the other way. Snagging the ball, Hwang Ui-jo pulled off a turning shot that blasted the ball into the goal, evening up the score 1–1.

After giving up that goal, Brazil turned up the offense. As Brazilian players traded quick passes around the center and sides of the goal area, the Koreans had to physically block their shots.

But around the 41st minute of the first half, a foul in the penalty area gave Neymar a penalty kick, which he pulled off, regaining the lead for Brazil.

There was another heart-stopping moment toward the end of the first half when a header from Thiago Silva (Chelsea) bounced off the goal.

Brazil’s waves of attack were relentless in the second half, too. Early on, a shot by Lucas Paquetá (Lyon) ricocheted from the goal. That led to a counterattack by Son Heung-min, Hwang Ui-jo and Hwang Hee-chan, but they ultimately gave up a penalty kick that gave Brazil another point.

After Kim Young-gwon (Ulsan Hyundai) committed a foul while blocking Sandro, Neymar went up to kick and duped Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu (Kashiwa Reysol) for his second goal.

Bento swapped in defender Kim Moon-hwan (Jeonbuk Hyundai) and striker Na Sang-ho (Seoul) in an attempt to shift tactics. Son Heung-min played a vital role in the second half with his breakthroughs and shooting.

But Brazil subbed in Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid) to keep its offense sharp and ultimately crushed the Korean side with two more goals, one by new sub Philippe Coutinho (Aston Villa) at the 34th minute and another by Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) in extra time.

Neymar was chosen as the game’s MVP.

“Our weak points were revealed in a friendly match with a powerful team. To fix the issues with our defense setup, we need to pressure the opponent in the midfield and in front to ease the burden on the back. We did our best in repelling the offense of an extremely strong team,” said Kim Dae-gil, sports commentator.

By Kim Chang-keum, senior staff writer; Park Gang-su, staff reporter

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