Brazil keeps World Cup hopes alive with easy win over Haiti

Brazil kept their World Cup hopes alive with a comfortable 3-0 win over Haiti on Saturday, all but securing a place in the last 32. Matheus Cunha scored twice and Vinicius Junior scored once.

The five-time world champions were heavily criticized for drawing 1-1 in their opening match against Morocco. However, they made their differences with a weaker team, Haiti, clear in this match. Haiti became the first team to be eliminated from the current World Cup after this defeat.

Brazil took the lead in Philadelphia with a goal from Cunha midway through the first half. Cunha then scored his second goal as Carlo Ancelotti’s side took full control of the match. Vinicius scored the team’s third just before the break.

Brazil will face Scotland in the final match of Group C in Miami on June 24.

Haiti’s first World Cup journey since 1974 will end after the match against Morocco in Atlanta.

Brazil currently lead the table ahead of Morocco on goal difference. If they can win their group, they will face the runners-up from Group F in the next round – likely to be the Netherlands, Japan or Sweden.

Neymar did not travel with the team as he struggled to recover from a calf injury, prompting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to joke that Neymar was working “remotely”.

As expected, Ancelotti made changes to the team after the poor performance in the Morocco match. Manchester United forward Cunha was brought in to replace Brentford’s Igor Thiago, and right-back Roger Ibanez was replaced by Danilo.

Although spectators from Haiti were unable to attend due to a US government embargo, the team received overwhelming support from the large Haitian diaspora there. Nearly half of the 68,324 spectators were Haitian supporters.

Haiti coach Sebastian Mignon, who was disappointed to not have picked up any points after losing 1-0 to Scotland last week, urged his players to enjoy the opportunity to play Brazil at the World Cup.

With a 77-place gap between the two countries in the FIFA rankings, Brazil took control of the match from the start. Everyone thought a goal had been scored when Rafinha sent the ball into the net, but the Barcelona winger was offside.

However, Brazil scored the first goal in the 23rd minute, showing that this was just the beginning.

Cunha started the attack by winning the ball from midfield. After Vinicius’ shot was blocked by the goalkeeper, Haiti defender Hannes Delcroix tried to clear the ball. But Cunha quickly blocked it and the ball rolled into the net.

Vinicius and Cunha again combined to double the lead. Vinicius passed the ball past the Haitian defense to Cunha. Cunha scored with a powerful left-footed shot as he fell to the ground.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s Rafinha left the field injured, but they got their third goal before the end of the first half. Vinicius ran to catch Lucas Paqueta’s floated pass and sent the ball into the net through Johnny Placid’s legs.

A superb header from Ricardo Ade from a corner was saved by Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker, denying Haiti their first World Cup goal in 52 years. It was a great opportunity for them to score throughout the match.

At times, when Ancelotti was bringing on the bench, the Brazilian fans cheered as 19-year-old Andric came on. The fans almost had another chance to celebrate when a shot from substitute Gabriel Martinelli hit the crossbar.

Haiti didn’t give up in the end. Alisson made two more great saves towards the end of the match. As a result, Brazil left the field without conceding a goal (clean sheet) for the first time in seven consecutive matches. And with this, they turned around a new round after a disappointing start to the tournament.