A 1-0 defeat to Argentina on Friday marked Brazil’s fifth match without a win since lifting the Copa América back in the summer (D3, L2). Each of those five matches separated the teams by under 1.5 goals, and both defeats in this sequence saw Brazil concede the loser in the first or final 15 minutes.
Brazil’s last five outings have also seen them concede an average of 0.4 penalty goals per-match. This has contributed to the fact that Brazil has now lost the first half by a one-goal margin in three (60%) of their last five matches. However, their current H2H record against South Korea (W4, L1) may provide some source of inspiration.
Unbeaten in nine matches (W5, D4), South Korea will be full of confidence as they look for a famous result against the ‘Seleção’. The three wins within that sequence to yield a winning margin of under 1.5 goals were all friendlies, with a 2-1 win over another CONMEBOL side ranked in FIFA’s current top-ten (Colombia) amongst them.
South Korea’s friendly H2H win in March 1999 marks the nation’s sole previous victory over Brazil. Their last encounter with Brazil came in October 2013 (L 0-2), and is the only one of South Korea’s four prior H2H defeats to see them lose both halves.
Players to watch: Eager to atone for a terrible penalty miss vs Argentina, Gabriel Jesus has hit five goals across Brazil’s last three friendly wins, though only one of them arrived in the middle third of the match (31st-60th minute).
Korean midfielder Lee Jae-Sung was the winning scorer vs Colombia back in March, but teammate Kim Shin-Wook is in bullish mode after smashing four past Sri Lanka last month.
Stat attack: Brazil has averaged exactly 4.0 goals per-match across their last three friendly wins.
The Seleção have outscored South Korea by exactly a 2:1 ratio across the five prior H2Hs.
None of South Korea’s last three friendly victories have seen them score the decisive winner before half-time.
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