With a masterful 4-1 thrashing of South Korea in the round of 16, Brazil made a huge statement in their pursuit of a sixth World Cup victory.
Vinicius Jr. scored the game's first goal from inside the penalty area in the eighth minute. From the penalty spot, Neymar added the second goal, and Richarlison added one of the goals of the competition to make it three.
Before the break for halftime, Paqueta joined the fun by volleying in Vinicius Jr. For South Korea, Paik Seung-ho scored.
Richarlison was the one to complete the move after showing off some deft head skills in the setup. The Tottenham Hotspur player grabbed Thiago Silva's through ball and scored with ease from inside the box.
It was a piece of Brazilian art, but the celebrations were undoubtedly the best part of everything.
Everyone wearing yellow was dancing, even manager Tite, age 61.
The video is pure gold, and he even imitated Richarlison's well-known pigeon celebration on the sidelines.
In the first half, Brazil was simply impossible to stop. They had a 4-0 lead going into halftime, but it could have easily been seven or eight. Even though South Korea created their own issues by advancing so far up the field and leaving so few men in the back, Brazil still needed to know how to take advantage of the situation, which they accomplished.
After the initial goal by Vincius, which was shortly followed by a Neymar penalty, there could only be one victor. Richarlison and Lucas Paqueta's quick, precise passing moves for goals three and four were works of art. Brazil, who gave Pelé the best tribute while watching from his hospital bed in So Paolo, is unstoppable on that form.
The Selecao is seeking its first victory since Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho swept to victory in 2002, and their performance in the opening period at Stadium 974 was deserving of being included in that tradition.
Vinicius Jr. opened the scoring for Brazil, Neymar, who had recovered from his ankle injury, converted a penalty in the 13th minute, and Richarlison and Lucas Paqueta both scored before halftime. Paik Seung-ho made sure that other teams in Qatar were also treated to some magnificent goals, but this was still a performance to terrify Croatia, Brazil's quarterfinal opponent, and the other teams still in Qatar.