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The World Cup round of 16 continues Monday afternoon as mighty Brazil face South Korea. The Brazilians won Group G but ended the group stage with a surprising 1-0 loss to Cameroon, while South Korea finished as runners-up in Group H after beating Portugal while just edging Uruguay on a tiebreaker to sneak into the knockout stage. Brazil are the heavy favorites, but with just three goals scored in three games, is there attack ready to start clicking?
Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more — and while you’re at it, sign up for our new newsletter covering the beautiful game in all its glory, including daily updates about the World Cup, here.
How to watch and odds
Date: Monday, Dec. 5 Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)Odds: Brazil -400; Draw +400; South Korea +1200 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Storylines
Brazil: The big news ahead of this one is that manager Tite has declared Neymar as fit to play. He missed the last two games due to an ankle injury that he picked up in the opener. But it’s not all great in the Brazil camp with Gabriel Jesus and Alex Telles out for the remainder of the competition, with the former reportedly set to miss up to three months.
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South Korea: They are full of confidence after beating Portugal on a late goal to enter the round of 16, and they have absolutely nothing to lose, which is dangerous. But it’s hard to envision them being able to win this game without Kim Min-Jae. The start center back has a calf injury and missed the Portugal game, but he’s determined to play no matter what, even if it means getting further hurt.
“They all did well but now we need even more. I was sorry not to be on the pitch. It was difficult to watch from the bench, but the injury I suffered didn’t allow me to be at 100%, so in such an important game we felt it was better not to risk it,” he said after the win against Portugal.
“I want to do everything to be there, I’m ready to play even at the cost of getting more seriously injured.”
Prediction
Richarlison and Vinicius Jr. find the goals as Brazil advance to the quarterfinals. Pick: Brazil 2, South Korea 0