On a sticky, fun, occasionally boisterous, occasionally listless night in Philadelphia, Brazil eased past a game but limited Haiti. All three goals in this 3-0 win came during a spell of first-half urgency driven by the high-grade wide play of Vinícius Júnior and Raphinha. In that period Brazil’s wide forwards were simply too much for a Haiti team that looked as if it was trying to defend in a dogged low block, which gave the appearance of cautious, deep defence, but with the added key variation of also leaving huge open spaces in exactly the wrong places.
Haiti, with no goals and no points, are now certain to finish bottom of Group C and face a final fixture against Morocco in Atlanta on Wednesday. There is also an oddity for Scotland now, who are likely to play their fixture against Brazil uncertain as to what result is required, needing to wait for the other groups to finish before knowing their destiny. Thanks, again, for that Gianni. Pile ’em high. Deal with the consequences later.
