Brazil secured a 3-0 victory over Haiti in a World Cup Group C match at Philadelphia Stadium, where more than 69,000 fans gathered for a night described as both a rivalry and a celebration.
Brazil have lift-off in their bid to win a sixth FIFA World Cup (WC) after they maintained their 100% record against Haiti with a comfortable 3-0 victory, sending them to the top of Group C and eliminating Les Grenadiers in the process.
After underperforming and underdelivering in their opening draw against Morocco, Brazil arrived in Philadelphia with a point to prove against a Haitian side that was unfortunate not to pick up a positive result against Scotland. Raphinha thought he had settled the Brazilian nerves when he fired home from Bruno Guimaraes’s scooped-through ball, only to be denied by the assistant’s raised flag.
Unfortunately for Haiti, the offside flag could not save them when Matheus Cunha opened the scoring midway through the first half, forcing the ball in despite Hannes Delcroix’s desperate attempts to clear, after Johny Placide parried Vinicius Junior’s driven shot.
Cunha, who was one of two Brazilian changes for this contest, soon added a second when he latched onto Vinícius’s well-weighted pass before blasting an emphatic effort at the near post into the roof of the net.
Buoyed by his assist, Vinícius put his own name on the scoresheet in the closing stages of the first period, but not before Raphinha was concerningly withdrawn due to injury.
The Real Madrid star raced in behind Haiti’s naively high backline and calmly guided a low shot beyond Placide, effectively sealing the win before the half-time whistle.
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