Brazil cruised to victory in their second game of the World Cup against Haiti

Brazil and Haiti both came into their second matchups, respectively, on Friday night, looking to get their first three points of the tournament. Brazil was able to do that in the first 45 minutes of the game as they defeated Haiti handily in front of a sold-out crowd in the city of Philadelphia with a final score of 3-0. 

"We played a complete game, especially in the first half," Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said after the match. "In the second half, we controlled the game. Overall, we played a good match." 

The Game 

Brazil thought they had opened up the score sheet in the 11th minute after a short clearance from Haitian defender Ricardo Adé was recovered by the Brazilian midfield. The ball would land at the feet of Raphinha, who would put the ball in the back of the net, but the referee deemed the FC Barcelona striker offside, disallowing the goal, much to the chagrin of the majority of Brazilian fans clad in yellow in the stands. 

Raphinia would have a one-on-one with Haitian goalkeeper Johny Placide in the 22nd minute, after a through ball from Lucas Paquetá left him wide open. Raphinia would try to chip the ball past the goalkeeper, but the ball would narrowly miss the net and go out of play. Raphinia would eventually be subbed out in the first half after sustaining a hamstring on his right leg. 

"Raphinha felt pain in his right hamstring during the first half of the match against Haiti," the Brazil federation said in a statement after the match. "The player has begun treatment and will be re-evaluated. We will provide updates as soon as more information becomes available." 

Raphinia was replaced by AFC Bournemouth striker Rayan in the 40th minute. 

"We will evaluate Raphinha tomorrow," Ancelotti said after the game. "Right now, we're not sure what happened. 

Brazil would end up opening up the scoring in the 23rd minute, as Brazil intercepted a pass in the middle of the field, the ball would eventually find Vinícius Júnior, who took on several Haitian defenders inside the box, and shot the ball towards goal. His attempt was stopped by Placide; the rebound would fall at the feet of Matheus Cunha, who simply tapped the ball into the back of the net to score his first goal of the tournament. 

"Being able to wear the No. 9 jersey at the World Cup -- I try to look on the bright side," Cunha said after the game. "You know that so many great players have worn that jersey and played for Brazil, and now you're just one more name in history who gets to do the same.” Cunha continued, "The weight of the jersey is part of whatever number you wear. You saw the stadium packed today. That's what Brazil is all about, the streets painted. I see it much more as a privilege than a burden to carry." 

Cuhna would score his second goal of the night in the 36th minute. Paquetá would take the ball off Haitian midfielder Josué Casimir. He would lay the ball off to Vinícius, who played the ball behind Haiti’s defensive line, finding Cunha in stride, as the Manchester United striker took the ball into the box and placed his shot on the left-hand side of Placid’s goal for his brace. 

"For this game, Mateus Cunha's position was the right position to create problems for their defense," Ancelotti said. "He moved well; he was on the end of through balls. He could be a solution. But next game I might change it." 

Brazil would seal their victory close to halftime, after Paquetá played a long ball behind the Haitian defense to Vinícius, placing the ball into the open space of the field for his former Flamengo teammate to get to the ball. Vinícius would be left one-on-one with Placid, and the Real Madrid star would place his shot in the right-hand side of Placid’s net to score his second goal of the World Cup. 

The intensity of the first half would die down a little bit in the second half as goal-scoring opportunities would come few and far between. Haiti would have its best chance to get in the score sheet in the 63rd minute off a corner kick as Ade’s header was saved by Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker and cleared away by Danilo. 

Gabriel Martinelli had a chance to score Brazil’s fourth goal of the game, but his shot hit the post. Endrick, though he had scored his first goal of the World Cup after receiving a through ball from Rayan and putting the ball in the back of the net, had the goal called back for an offside. 

With this result, Brazil moves up to 1st place in Group C, tied with Morocco with 4 points, but with a better goal differential. Haiti sits in last place of the group with 0 points, and with their defeat, becomes the first team eliminated from the 2026 World Cup. 

Brazil now travels to Miami, FL, where they will look to secure first place in Group C as they take on Scotland, while Haiti will travel to Atlanta to face Morocco. Both games will take place on