Sports Desk, dbarta24.com- Recovering from the shock of their opening-match draw against Morocco, Brazil returned to their trademark fluid rhythm in their second group-stage fixture.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men delivered a dominant performance, cruising past Haiti with a convincing 3-0 victory at Philadelphia.
A first-half brace from Matheus Cunha and a clinical injury-time finish from Vinicius Junior sealed the fate of the match early on. With this commanding win, the five-time world champions have leapfrogged Morocco on goal difference to claim the top spot in Group C.
Early Dominance and Disallowed Goals
Brazil put pressure on the Haitian defense right from the opening whistle. In the 13th minute, Raphinha collected a pass from Danilo, cut into the box, and unleashed a powerful shot into the back of the net.
However, the stadium’s celebrations were short-lived as the linesman raised the offside flag, rendering the goal invalid.
Just nine minutes later, the Barcelona star found himself one-on-one with the Haitian goalkeeper but failed to hit the target—though replays showed he was in an offside position once again.
The Cunha-Vinicius Show Begins
The Seleção did not have to wait much longer for their breakthrough. In the 23rd minute, Haiti’s defense crumbled under pressure. Vinicius Junior orchestrated the move, feeding the ball into the danger zone.
The ball took a deflection off Haitian defender Jean-Kevin Duverne before striking Cunha and rolling into the net, giving Brazil a 1-0 lead.
Spurred by the opening goal, the five-time world champions intensified their attacks. Their persistence paid off in the 36th minute when Cunha struck again.
Latching onto a precise pass from Vinicius, the striker drove into the penalty box and unleashed a clinical diagonal shot to secure his second goal of the match.
The ultimate display of Samba magic arrived during first-half injury time. Lucas Paquetá lofted a brilliant pass from midfield over the Haitian backline. Vinicius Junior controlled it beautifully inside the box, bypassed the goalkeeper, and slotted it home.
This marked the Real Madrid star’s second goal of the tournament, ensuring Brazil went into the break with absolute control.
Earlier in the 39th minute, Raphinha was forced off the pitch due to a minor injury and was replaced by Rayan.
Tactical Shifts in the Second Half
Trailing by three goals, Haiti attempted to claw their way back into the game after the interval, introducing Wilson Isidor and Bryan Alceus to boost their attack.
In the 48th minute, Isidor capitalized on a rare mistake by Danilo, but his powerful strike was quickly blocked by the Brazilian defense.
While Brazil looked slightly disjointed early in the second half, they gradually regained composure. In the 64th minute, Ancelotti made tactical switches, bringing on Endrick and Gabriel Martinelli for Paquetá and the star of the night, Cunha.
Endrick found the net in the 78th minute, but his joy was cut short by another offside call. Shortly after, Vinicius and Bruno Guimarães made way for Danilo Santos and Ederson.
Despite a late surge of crosses from Haiti that kept the Brazilian defense busy, the scoreline remained unchanged, and Ancelotti’s side walked away with a comprehensive 3-0 victory.
Flawless Historic Record Extends
With today’s result, Brazil maintains a perfect record against Haiti, winning all four of their historical international encounters. Across these four meetings, the Seleção has scored a staggering 20 goals while conceding only once.
Previously, Brazil defeated Haiti 4-0 and 6-0 in friendly matches in 1974 and 2004, respectively. Their most recent meeting before today was a 7-1 thrashing during the 2016 Copa América, featuring a hat-trick by Philippe Coutinho.
Notably, just like today’s masterclass, that historic victory also took place on American soil.