There really is only one glaringly obvious thing to say - if Pele was watching the first half of this game from his hospital bed, he would have approved.
Approved of the youthful impudence of Vinicius Junior, who began this riotous celebration of Brazilian football by sending four South Korean defenders and a goalkeeper for a taxi before clipping in a delicious first. Approved of the supreme confidence of Neymar, who stroked home a penalty that took him to within one of the Greatest’s record tally of 77 Brazilian goals.
Approved of Richarlison’s headed party trick, his link-up with Marquinhos and Thiago Silva and his nonchalant finish for the third. Approved of what was, quite frankly, an almost laughably-good fourth, Lucas Paqueta volleying home Vinicius’ dinked assist. Approved of every dazzling detail of this demolition of the hapless South Koreans and approved of the message it sent to world football.
On the evidence of the opening 45 minutes, this could be vintage Brazil, this could be the team that re-establishes itself as the gold standard for the beautiful game, this could be a special collection of players to rival the greats of previous generations.
First things first, South Korea looked shot to pieces the moment Vinicius Junior opened the floodgates of fun. If they had any sort of masterplan to resist the multi-pronged attacking threat of Tite’s team - and, trust me, it is multi-pronged - you could have fooled the 40-odd thousand inside Stadium 974.
But no matter how ill-equipped the South Koreans were, this was, for 50 per cent of proceedings, frighteningly good from Brazil - fast, incisive, full of finesse, flamboyance with a purpose.
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At times, it felt like one long dance. Naturally, with progression secured before half-time, the joyful endeavour was far less intense after the break. Clearly, they started thinking ahead to the sterner challenge that will be provided by the runners-up at Russia 2018.
And there were also signs in the second half against the nothing if not spirited South Koreans that Brazil could be defensively vulnerable, especially down the flanks. But make no mistake, after the last-16 markers laid down by France and by England, this was a statement from the Selecao, a reminder that they are still the team to beat, especially now that Neymar seems to be back to rude health.
He might be disappointed not to have capitalised further on Brazil’s brilliance but his link-up play with Vinicius Junior and with Richarlison was a joy to watch. In the last eight, Brazil face Croatia, who had to go the distance with Japan and were less than convincing.
If the tired Croatians wanted to glean any encouragement from this one-sided fixture, it might have come from the occasional chance created by South Korea.
But in case you had forgotten, Brazil also happen to have, arguably, the two best goalkeepers at the tournament. Alisson showcased his superb shot-stopping skills before being beaten from range by a violent strike from substitute Paik Seung-ho.
Talking of substitutes, Tite even had the cheek to send on third-choice 'keeper Weverton for a 10-minute run-out. A touch insulting, perhaps, and it is doubtful Pele would approve, but there was plenty of other stuff that, hopefully, brought a smile to the great man’s face.
