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On Friday night in Philadelphia, Brazil earned its first victory of the tournament with a commanding 3-0 victory over Haiti, who put in a heroic performance – keeping it at 0-0 and even threatening Alisson’s goal several times in the second half – but unfortunately couldn’t handle the overwhelming power of the five-time World Cup champion.
Thanks to this victory and this score, Brazil took the lead in Group C thanks to a better goal differential against Morocco, winner 1-0 against Scotland earlier in the evening. For Haiti, its World Cup is now effectively over after zero points in its first two matches.
It was a big night for Matheus Cunha, who came into the starting XI, replacing Igor Thiago after his quiet performance against Morocco. The Manchester United star thanked Carlo Ancelotti with a brace, scored in the 26th and 36th minutes respectively.
Vinícius Jr. scored the third after a nice ball from Lucas Paquetá and once that happened, the night was over. And unfortunately, so is the World Cup in Haiti.
It was also the first time since 1958 that Brazil played a match with two teenagers on the field, when Endrick and Rayan came on later in the match. It speaks volumes about Ancelotti’s confidence in his young stars and that at this World Cup, if you are good enough, you will have a chance to shine for the national team.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Viní continues to lead by example
(Photo by Marcel Bonte/Soccrates/Getty Images)
After an individual performance against Morocco, scoring the goal that equalized against the Atlas Lions, thus gaining a point, the Real Madrid star gave us another majestic performance this evening in Philadelphia. His assist to Cunha and his first-half stoppage-time goal total three goals in the competition so far.
But the match against Haiti was also marked by his commitment off the ball, as he often returned to help Douglas Santos on the left.
This is exactly what Ancelotti needs from Vinícius Jr., who knows that in this World Cup he must inspire his team in order to imbue confidence in the team. And that’s exactly what he did.
2. Paquetà’s full performance
(Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)
The Flamengo man was fantastic on Friday, especially in the first half where Brazil did all the damage. He controlled the center of the field, won battles and, whenever possible, created opportunities that threatened Haiti’s goal. His highlight was the beautiful assist he got on Vinícius Jr.’s goal. Their chemistry was born from their childhood friendship from back then at the Flamengo academy. In the past, Vinicius has called Paquetá his best friend in football, and you can understand why, as their understanding when it comes to possession is evident.
If Paquetá can keep this momentum going, it will solve some problems for the Brazilian midfielder.
3. How will Raphinha’s injury affect Brazil?
(Photo by Hannah Peters – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Unfortunately for the Barcelonan, his night ended in the first half when Bournemouth’s Rayan replaced him in the 40th minute. It looked like a hamstring injury and is a big loss for Brazil, who rely on their electric play on the right wing. But Rayan, who enjoyed a solid debut season for the Cherries with five goals and two assists after only arriving in January, will be aiming to seize this opportunity and show his manager why he deserves the starting role. Or maybe it’s Gabriel Martinelli as the Arsenal winger was lively on his 64th-minute entry.
There is, however, no doubt that Raphinha will be missed. Even with a quiet start to the World Cup campaign, just like Vinícius Jr., he is someone who could single-handedly be a game-changer for the Seleção.
4. Haiti’s overall heroic performance deserved more
(Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
Due to the defeat, coupled with that against Scotland, Haiti is unfortunately essentially out of the World Cup due to zero points with no goals scored. But instead of deciphering his postmortem, I want to pay tribute to the Grenadiers, because we need to remember how they got this World Cup spot in the first place. It reached the tournament for the first time since 1974 without playing any of its home qualifiers. Due to gang violence that invaded the national stadium in Port-au-Prince more than two years ago, the team was unable to play in front of its own fans this campaign. And yet, he succeeded.
I think that whatever happens here, Haiti deserves massive recognition.
