Brazil forward Matheus Cunha vindicated manager Carlo Ancelotti’s faith by scoring his first two goals at the World Cup as the five-times champions sealed a 3-0 victory over Haiti, who were eliminated from the tournament.
Vinicius Junior played a key role by setting up both of Cunha’s goals before scoring one himself just before half-time. However, Brazil suffered a blow when winger Raphinha was taken off with an apparent leg injury in the 40th minute.
The performance was a significant improvement from Brazil’s opening 1-1 draw with Morocco. The win moved them to four points in Group C, level with Morocco but ahead on goal difference.
Earlier in the day, Morocco’s 1-0 win over Scotland meant Haiti became the first team eliminated from the tournament. Scotland have three points, while Haiti remain at the bottom of the group without a point.
Despite the result, Haiti showed plenty of spirit in only their second World Cup appearance and their first since 1974. Backed by a passionate group of supporters, they continued to fight throughout the match.
Haiti’s best chance came after halftime when defender Ricardo Ade met a corner with a powerful near-post header, forcing Brazil goalkeeper Alisson into a quick save.
Ancelotti made two changes to his starting lineup, including bringing in Cunha as the central striker in place of Igor Thiago. The move paid off, with Brazil looking far more fluid and dangerous in attack than they did in their opening game.
Haiti started brightly and caused some early problems, but Brazil eventually made their quality count.
The opening goal came in the 23rd minute. Vinicius’ shot was pushed away by goalkeeper Johny Placide, but under pressure from Cunha, defender Hannes Delcroix accidentally turned the ball into his own net while trying to clear.
Brazil doubled their lead in the 36th minute after winning possession and launching a quick counterattack. Vinicius played a perfectly timed pass to Cunha, who raced through and calmly fired into the top corner despite appearing to lose his balance.
Shortly after the goal, Raphinha suddenly went down and had to be substituted. The exact nature of his injury was not immediately clear. Earlier in the match, he had seen one goal ruled out for offside and missed another good chance in a move that was also flagged.
Brazil effectively put the game beyond Haiti in first-half stoppage time. Lucas Paqueta delivered a superb pass over the top for Vinicius, who ran onto it and calmly finished past the advancing Placide to make it 3-0.
