Estevao and Rodrygo score 2 goals each as Brazil overpowers South Korea 5-0

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Two goals each from Estevao and Rodrygo powered Brazil to a 5-0 win over South Korea in Seoul on Friday in an early warm-up for next year's World Cup.

Brazil, which beat South Korea 4-1 at the 2022 World Cup, again proved too strong for the hosts in the friendly match watched by 66,000 fans at a wet Seoul World Cup Stadium. Brazil claimed just its third win in 12 away games.

Brazil, which finished fifth in qualifying for the 2026 tournament to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Bruno Guimaraes split the Korean defense with a pass to Estevao. The Chelsea forward slotted home from close range. Seven minutes later, Casemiro had a goal disallowed for offside, and Rodrygo’s low shot before the half-hour mark was saved by goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo.

Four minutes before halftime, Brazil doubled its lead with a well-worked move. Casemiro found Rodrygo inside the box, and the Real Madrid star curled a shot into the bottom corner to make it 2-0.

Two minutes into the second half, Estevao added his second after pouncing on a mistake by Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae near the edge of the area. Rodrygo struck again soon after, converting unmarked from inside the box to make it 4-0.

His Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Junior completed the scoring in the 77th minute, sealing a dominant performance for the five-time world champions.

“Satisfaction comes from the collective team play as if you build a strong base with a solid defensive team the individual quality up front will show,” said Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti, who was hired in May. “Today it worked very well because Rodrygo played a very good game, Estevao as well.”

“At the World Cup, we’ll have to face teams with solid defenses, and our players showed they can overcome this with individual abilities,” Ancelotti said.

It was a miserable evening for the hosts, who barely troubled the Brazilian backline.

“We learned a lot by facing a strong team in the process of preparing for the World Cup,” South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo said. “I’m sorry we couldn’t deliver a good result for the many fans who came in bad weather … we showed shortcomings which we will address moving forward.”

On Tuesday, Brazil will face Japan, which drew 2-2 with Paraguay earlier Friday.

Miguel Almiron opened the scoring in Osaka in the 21st minute before Koki Ogawa equalized soon after. Diego Gomez restored Paraguay’s lead just after the hour, but Ayase Ueda salvaged a draw for the hosts with a 94th-minute goal.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Brazil's Estevao celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the international friendly soccer match between South Korea and Brazil at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Brazil's Estevao kicks the ball during the international friendly soccer match between South Korea and Brazil at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Brazil's Richarlison, left, and South Korea's Won Du-jae fight for the ball during the international friendly soccer match between South Korea and Brazil at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Brazil's Rodrygo celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the international friendly soccer match between South Korea and Brazil at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Donald Trump is set to meet Thursday at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by then-President Nicolás Maduro before the United States captured him in an audacious military raid this month.

Less than two weeks after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges, Trump will host the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Machado, having already dismissed her credibility to run Venezuela and raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in the country.

“She’s a very nice woman,” Trump told Reuters in an interview about Machado. “I’ve seen her on television. I think we’re just going to talk basics.”

The meeting comes as Trump and his top advisers have signaled their willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s vice president and along with others in the deposed leader's inner circle remain in charge of day-to-day governmental operations.

Rodríguez herself has adopted a less strident position toward Trump and his “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, saying she plans to continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro — a move reportedly made at the behest of the Trump administration. Venezuela released several Americans this week.

Trump, a Republican, said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.

“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump told reporters. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”

In endorsing Rodríguez, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela. She had sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key advisers like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a political gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government. She also intends to have a meeting in the Senate on Thursday afternoon.

Despite her alliance with Republicans, Trump was quick to snub her following Maduro’s capture. Just hours afterward, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country. She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”

Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, which Trump coveted. She has since thanked Trump and offered to share the prize with him, a move that has been rejected by the Nobel Institute.

Machado’s whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.

The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.

A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.

Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.

Janetsky reported from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)