Desert fest: This is Brazil

Brazil finally came to the party. They caressed the ball, dribbled it with playful mirth and passed it around with precision before burying it in the back of the South Korean net. Not once, but four times in a small matter of 36 minutes, turning Monday night's World Cup Round of 16 contest into a cakewalk.

The first half saw a full-strength Brazil burst out like a giant awoken from a long slumber following an indifferent first-round showing which included a chastening 1-0 defeat to Cameroon.

The five-time world champions came into the match with only three goals -- two against Serbia and one against Switzerland-- under their belt in the group stage, with a lavishly wasteful 17:1 conversion rate when it came to turning attempts into goals.

But they translated their first four attempts into goals against the Tigers of Asia, with Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr initiating the carnage in the seventh minute, finessing the ball into the far post with his right foot.

After missing the last two games due to an ankle injury, talisman Neymar marked his return by scoring the second from a penalty. He is now just one shy of equalling Pele's record 77 goals for Brazil.

Richarlison added the third, supplying a clinical finish to a beautiful build-up the that Tottenham forward started by juggling the ball with his head. Vinicius then cleverly poked a looping ball over the South Korean defence for Lucas Paqueta to drill home. Paik Seung-Ho struck a consolation for South Koreans -- a scorcher from outside the box past Alisson in the 76th minute.

Brazil's Monday night rampage provided a fitting farewell to the unique Stadium 947, but it was not just goals. It was a demonstration of the beautiful Brazilian samba.

Take, for instance, Richarlison's little passage of keeping the ball on his head before slipping it past his Korean marker and passing the ball to Marquinhos, who tagged in fellow centreback Thiago Silva.

With Richarlison on the run, Silva released the ball perfectly into his path to slot past the Korean goalkeeper.

It was Richarlison's third goal and a strong candidate for the tournament's best goal. He will be competing with himself for that prize, with his acrobatic effort against Serbia also among the top contenders.

Watching that magnificent little passage of play, one may have wondered about seeing the two centre-backs deep in the opponent's zone when they should have been rooted in their own half to prevent any possible counterattack.

"This is Brazil in a nutshell", screamed a TV commentator after the goal.

Dribbles are increasingly becoming a dying art against ruthless tackles. But with Neymar around, the game presented a lot of it. The Paris Saint Germain forward even dribbled past the referee at one point in the game.

The novelty of Brazil has always been to entertain. They demonstrated plenty of that in a choreographed celebration on the touchline after every goal they had scored. Coach Tite even joined in on Richarlison's celebratory pigeon dance, something a football pundit in the west termed 'hilarious'.

But dances have always added flair to celebrations, never intended to hurt or belittle the opponent.

The Selecao, aiming for a sixth world Cup, will take on Croatia in Friday's quarterfinal, the stage from which they exited in Russia in 2018, losing 1-2 to Belgium.

Croatia, the losing finalists in Russia, scraped past a combative Japan on penalties after the game ended 1-1 earlier on Monday.

Croatia are a massive hurdle for Brazil, especially as it is likely to put them in a mouth-watering semifinal against Argentina, provided that their South American rivals beat the Netherland on Friday.

The good news is that the Selecao have started to enjoy the game and have finally found a No. 9 in the making in Richarlison since the departure of great Ronaldo, who led Brazil to their fifth World Cup glory 20 years ago in Japan-Korea with a brace against Germany in the final.

For Brazil, the countdown has just begun. One down three to go.