Playing good football at times, the Brazilian national football team comfortably defeated Scotland 3-0 in Miami and, after completing Group 3, qualified for the “32” of the 2026 World Cup, as the first from Group 3, with seven points and a record of two wins (over Scotland and Haiti) and a draw with Morocco (1-1).
In just the 7th minute, after Ryan’s pressure on McKenna at the height of the penalty area and from the left, Vinicius found himself with the ball at the penalty spot and after avoiding Gunn, gave the “Seleção” the lead. The Brazilian internationals imposed their pace and in the 24th minute they reached a second goal (again with Vinicius, after a mistake by Hendry), but it was disallowed for a foul by the Real Madrid striker on the Scottish defender. And while any reaction from the Europeans had no significant effect, in the first 45 minutes of injury time (45`+3`), Vinicius Junior made it 2-0, ideally capitalizing on a parallel cross from Guimaraes from the right.
In the second 45 minutes, the Scots tried to reduce the score and get back into the match, but they were unable to create any significant chances and threaten Alisson. On the contrary, the “seleção” continued to play their game and in the 60th minute, Guimaraes, after successive feints, made the assist to Cunha, who easily scored, “writing” the 3-0.
In the 76th minute of the match, the moment that all Brazilian football fans had been waiting for arrived, as Neymar replaced Cunha and made his first appearance in the competition, knowing the apotheosis.
In the remaining minutes, the picture of the match did not change, with the “seleçao” reaching a comfortable victory and the Scots waiting for the completion of the 3rd matchday to see if they will continue in the next phase of the competition.
Referee: A. Ramos (Mexico)
Yellows: Christie – Danilo, Fabinho
Reds:
Line-ups:
SCOTLAND (Steve Clarke): Gunn, Robertson (46` Tierney), Hendry, Patterson (82` Ralston), McKenna, McTominay, McGinn (90`+1` Curtis), Ferguson, McLean, Gannon-Dock (82` Christie), Shankland (90`+1` Adams).
BRAZIL (Carlo Ancelotti): Alisson, Gabriel, Marquinhos, Danilo, Santos (82` Alex Sandro), Casemiro (66` Fabinho), Guimaraes, Paqueta (66` Martinelli), Vinicius, Cunha (76` Neymar), Ryan (82` Enrique).