Brazil registered their first victory in six matches by defeating South Korea 3-0 in their friendly in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. The five-time world champions, playing in the UAE as part of their Global Tour, triumphed at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium through goals from Lucas Paqueta, Philippe Coutinho and Danilo. The opener arrived in the ninth minute, when Coutinho released left-back Renan Lodi, whose deflected cross was met by Pacqueta to power home his header from close range. It was only the forward’s second international goal in 11 appearances. Brazil doubled their lead on 36 minutes, after Hwang Ui-jo had fouled Liverpool midfielder Fabinho on the edge of the penalty area. From there, Coutinho curled a superb free-kick high into the Korean net. Things got worse for Paulo Bento’s side on the hour mark, Danilo racing on to Renan’s cut-back to drill his shot beyond Jo Hyeon-woo in the opposition goal. The closest South Korea came to scoring arrived in the first half, when Coutinho inadvertently deflected a free-kick off his own post. The two-time Asian champions were captained on the night by Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min. The match brought to a close Brazil’s tour of the Middle East. On Thursday, the Copa America holders lost 1-0 to rivals Argentina in Saudi Arabia.
