Vinicius Junior continued his brilliant FIFA World Cup form, scoring twice as Brazil eased to a comfortable 3-0 win over Scotland on Wednesday. The victory secured top spot in Group C and a place in the Round of 32.
The Real Madrid forward now has four goals in three matches at the tournament. He opened the scoring early in Miami after capitalising on a defensive mistake and added a second just before half-time with a brilliant header.
Scotland struggled to trouble Brazil throughout the game, as Matheus Cunha added a third goal on the hour mark to seal an emphatic win for the five-time world champions. The night also saw Neymar make his long-awaited return to international football, coming off the bench for his first appearance for Brazil in more than two-and-a-half years.
Brazil finished top of Group C with seven points, ahead of Morocco on goal difference after the North Africans beat Haiti 4-2. Carlo Ancelotti’s side will now face the runners-up from Group F — either the Netherlands, Japan or Sweden — in Houston on June 29.
Vinicius has been one of the standout players of the tournament so far. After scoring against Morocco and Haiti in Brazil’s previous matches, he has now found the net in all three group games. The last Brazilians to achieve that feat at a World Cup were Ronaldo and Rivaldo in 2002.
His four goals leave him just one behind tournament top scorer Lionel Messi and level with Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe in the Golden Boot race.
For Scotland, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position. They finished third in the group with three points and a goal difference of minus three. Steve Clarke’s side must now wait to see if that will be enough to qualify as one of the tournament’s best third-placed teams.
Scotland’s problems began in the seventh minute when defender Scott McKenna lost possession inside his own penalty area. Rayan quickly pounced, setting up Vinicius, who rounded goalkeeper Angus Gunn and calmly finished.
Brazil thought they had doubled their lead midway through the first half when Vinicius scored again after dispossessing Jack Hendry. However, VAR ruled the goal out after determining that Vinicius had fouled the defender in the build-up.
The second goal eventually arrived in first-half stoppage time. Another defensive error from Scotland allowed Bruno Guimaraes to deliver a cross, and Vinicius headed home to make it 2-0.
Scotland looked vulnerable throughout, with Gunn producing several important saves, including one to deny Vinicius a hat-trick early in the second half.
Cunha then put the result beyond doubt, scoring his third goal of the tournament from a Guimaraes pass. Brazil continued to create chances and could easily have won by a bigger margin.
Scotland had opportunities to pull a goal back, but goalkeeper Alisson twice denied Scott McTominay.
The loudest cheers of the night came in the 76th minute when Neymar replaced Cunha. Brazil’s all-time leading scorer had not played for his country since October 2023 and received a warm welcome from the crowd.
The victory was Brazil’s fourth win in five World Cup meetings with Scotland, with the only exception being a goalless draw in 1974.
