Brazil 3-0 Haiti: Cunha's Brace and Vinicius Strike Seal Group C Top Spot
Brazil bounced back from their opening 1-1 draw with Morocco in style, brushing aside World Cup debutants Haiti 3-0 at Lincoln Financial Field. Matheus Cunha scored twice and Vinicius Junior added a third before the break, eliminating Haiti from the tournament and sending Carlo Ancelotti's side top of Group C on goal difference.
🔑 Key Match Takeaways
⚽ A Clinical First Half Ends It Early
Haiti started with a disciplined, defensive 5-4-1 shape that briefly threatened to frustrate Brazil, much like the deep block that troubled Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal in their own Group K opener. But Raphinha rounding goalkeeper Johny Placide in the 21st minute only to see his chipped effort roll narrowly wide signaled the breakthrough was coming. It arrived through Matheus Cunha, who had replaced Igor Thiago in the starting line-up and opened the scoring before doubling his tally soon after. Brazil added a third right on the stroke of halftime: Lucas Paquetá's pass released Vinicius Junior, who calmly finished past Placide in the third minute of first-half stoppage time.
Brazil thought they'd made it four through Endrick midway through the half, only for the goal to be chalked off for offside — a decision repeated late in the second half when Endrick, on as a substitute, had another effort ruled out. Raphinha's afternoon ended early when he was forced off injured before the break and replaced by teenage forward Rayan, a concern Ancelotti will be monitoring ahead of the knockout push.
🛡️ A Quiet Second Half, A Clean Sheet
Haiti switched to a 4-4-2 after the break and Brazil, with the game already won, eased off the intensity that defined their first 45 minutes. Goalkeeper Alisson Becker was rarely troubled, but did well to deny Haiti's best late chance and preserve the clean sheet as the Caribbean side were eliminated from the tournament with one group game still to play.
