Brazil vs. South Korea Prediction: 2022 World Cup Odds

Daniel Coyle
December 3, 2022

South Korea will make their first appearance in the knockout stage at the FIFA World Cup since 2010 when they take on Brazil on Monday in round of 16 action at Qatar 2022. Korea Republic advanced out of the group stage on the strength of a 2-1 victory over Portugal that earned them second place on the Group H table with a 1-1-1 record. Brazil return to the knockout stage for the 10^th time in as many World Cup appearances after finishing atop the Group G table despite dropping a 1-0 decision to Cameroon in their group stage finale.

Brazil look to Monday’s contest perched as heavy -321 favourites on the World Cup round of 16 odds, while South Korea trail as distant +720 underdogs to punch their ticket to the tournament quarterfinals for the first time since hosting the World Cup in 2002. The odds of Monday’s clash ending in a draw after 90 minutes are pegged at +403, while the total finishing UNDER 3.5 is listed as a -286 bet.

Brazil vs South Korea Betting Analysis

Brazil -476
Draw +500
South Korea +1200

Monday afternoon’s matchup at Stadium 974 marks the first ever non-friendly meeting between these two national teams. Brazil rolled to a 5-1 victory when these sides met in Seoul back in June of this year, and have now outscored the Taegeuk Warriors by a 10-1 overall margin in three friendly matchups since 2013. Brazil saw a 17-match unbeaten streak across all competitions with their loss to Cameroon. The squad kept clean sheets in nine of the final 11 matches on their impressive 14-3-0 run, and scored 29 total goals while posting wins in each of the final nine matches during the streak. South Korea produced mix results in group stage action. The team opened their schedule with a scoreless draw against Uruguay, and saw a second-half rally fall just short in a 3-2 loss to Ghana before closing out the round robin with their win over Portugal. The Koreans also went 13-2-2 in 17 non-friendly contests prior to the tournament, tallying multiple goals nine times over that stretch.

Check out more World Cup betting odds at Sports Interaction.

Brazil

It’s looking increasingly unlikely that Brazil will have Neymar Jr. back in the lineup when they make their bid for an eighth straight victory in World Cup round of 16 action on Monday. The Brazilian captain suffered an ankle injury in the second half of the team’s tournament-opening 2-0 win over Serbia, sidelining him for the remainder of the group stage. A steady producer for Paris Saint-Germain this season, Neymar also potted six goals in seven outings with Brazil prior to the World Cup. And so far, the squad has been unable to make up for his absence at the tournament, scoring just one total goal over their final two group stage matches.

Indeed, injuries have emerged as a real threat to this team’s dreams of glory. In addition to Neymar, Brazil was also missing Alex Sandro and Danilo on Friday, and may be without Alex Telles and Gabriel Jesus on Monday. With Neymar sidelined, Richarlison has emerged as the clear favourite to lead this team in goals at this year’s tournament. The Tottenham Hotspur star potted both goals in Brazil’s group stage win over Serbia, and now sports short -395 odds to be the top Brazilian goalscorer at the tournament.

South Korea

South Korea needed a goal by Hwang Hee-chan in the 90^th minute to eke out a 2-1 win over Portugal, and end their run of two straight group stage exits at the World Cup. The win extends a recent steady run of offensive production for this team, which has potted 22 total goals over their past 12 matches across all competitions. With the match winner, Hwang has now scored three times in his past six appearances with the national team. Cho Gue-Sung provided all the scoring for the Koreans in their 3-2 loss to Ghana, extending his recent steady run in K League 1 club play that produced six goals in four outings prior to Qatar 2022.

Things have not gone as well for Tottenham Hotspur attacker Son Heung-Min. The team leader with seven goals during qualifying, Son has been held off the scoresheet in Qatar, and has failed to find the back of the net in his past nine overall outings, both in club and international play.