Brazilian star Neymar da Silva, returning from injury, led his national team to the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup with a resounding victory over South Korea (4-1) in the match held at Stadium 974, marking the sixth encounter of the Round of 16 on Monday. The "Samba Dancers" will face a tough matchup against Croatia, who advanced after defeating Japan in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw in both regular and extra time, scheduled for five o'clock on Friday.
Neymar scored his first goal in the 22nd edition hosted by Qatar in the 29th minute, following Vinicius Junior's opening goal for Brazil in the 7th minute, which marked his first goal for the national team in the World Cup. Richarlison continued the scoring spree with his third goal in the tournament at the 29th minute, surpassing Ronaldinho and Adriano, Brazilian legends who each scored only two goals. Lucas Paquetá added the fourth goal in the 36th minute, effectively sealing the match by halftime, before the Koreans reduced the deficit through Heung-Min Son in the 76th minute.
Neymar has now become one of only three Brazilian players, alongside Pelé and Ronaldo, to score in three different World Cup editions. Notably, all of his last six goals for Brazil have come from penalty kicks.
Neymar is closing in on Pelé's record as Brazil's all-time top scorer, raising his tally to 76 goals, just one shy of Pelé's 77. He participated in only the first match of the World Cup against Serbia, before exiting injured and missing the matches against Switzerland and Cameroon in the group stage.
