Group C: Brazil’s Cunha scores twice in 3-0 win over Haiti, Morocco bully Scotland into submission

Brazil move top of Group C on goal difference with four points Brazil forward Matheus Cunha rewarded manager Carlo Ancelotti’s backing with his first two goals at a World Cup as the five-times champions cruised to a 3-0 victory over Haiti on Friday to eliminate their opponents. Vinicius Junior also scored in the first half and was the creator for both of Cunha’s strikes before an apparent leg injury forced winger Raphinha off in the 40th minute. Overall, it was a much-improved effort from the Selecao’s 1-1 draw against Morocco to open their tournament and a result that puts Brazil on four points above the Atlas Lions in Group C on goal difference. “It was what I expected from this match to have a better quality of this match,” Ancelotti said. “Fewer mistakes. More effectiveness at the forward (positions) and more control at the back. And I think this was a good match.” Haiti became the first team at the World Cup out of contention for the knockout phase after Morocco’s 1-0 win over Scotland, who have three points, earlier on Friday. Haiti are bottom with no points. Even so, they clearly enjoyed their second appearance at the finals and first since 1974 and, despite a lineup that suggested a low block, showed admirable endeavour in front of a vocal red-and-blue-clad minority. “They showed that they deserved to be here at this World Cup,” Haiti manager Sebastian Migne said of his players. “And unfortunately, we played against Brazil, and there was too much of a gap.” Centre back Ricardo Ade came closest to scoring for the Caribbean side after halftime when his flashing, near-post header from a corner forced Alisson into a reaction save. CUNHA AMONG TWO BRAZIL CHANGES Cunha was one of two changes by Ancelotti, slotted in for Igor Thiago at centre-forward. With the Manchester United man involved, the Brazilian attack looked much more connected than six days prior, albeit against a lesser opponent. “Of course we have to improve,” Ancelotti said. “We have improved and we will improve for the next match.” Eventually, they punished the enthusiastic Haitians after a bright first 15 minutes from the underdogs. For Brazil’s first goal after 23 minutes, Cunha’s pressure forced the ball over the line on centre back Hannes Delcroix’s attempted clearance after Johny Placide could only parry Vinicius’ initial attempt. It was 2-0 in the 36th minute on a counterattack from a Haitian turnover. Vinicius slipped a ball into the path of Cunha’s well-timed diagonal run and, while he appeared to stumble, the forward still struck a strong finish into the top corner as Placide leaned in the wrong direction. It was unclear why Raphinha dropped to his haunches moments after the second goal, on a night where he had one apparent early goal ruled offside and another glaring miss after a move which also brought a raised flag. Vinicius’ strike came in stoppage time before the break when he ran onto Lucas Paqueta’s ball over the top and finished low past the charging Placide to effectively settle the contest. Morocco bully Scotland into submission for 1-0 win Morocco outmuscled Scotland for a 1-0 win thanks to the tournament’s fastest goal on Friday, taking control of Group C in the World Cup and moving into top spot with one match left to play. The North Africans, surprise semi-finalists four years ago, were in control throughout despite the deceptive scoreline, bullying the Scots into submission and scoring the winner with Ismael Saibari after 71 seconds of play. Morocco, who did not translate their dominance into more goals, now have four points from their two matches and will next play Haiti on Wednesday. Scotland, with three points from two games, face five-time champions Brazil on the last matchday. Brazil and Haiti face each other later on Friday. The top two teams of each group win automatic qualification for the round of 32, along with the eight best third-placed teams. “We would have liked to score that second goal to be more at ease, but we wanted to keep them really, really high up so they wouldn’t get too close to our box,” said Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi. “When it’s 1-0 at the end, that’s the Scots’ quality. But it’s okay. That’s what I said too: no panic, no panic, we do what needs to be done, we defend, we keep pressing. But we played a great match. We lacked a bit of efficiency.” “We are happy, we keep going. The road is still long, but it was important to win today,” he added. Morocco completed a total of 601 passes against Scotland, the most by an African team in a World Cup match on record since 1966. EARLY GOAL The Scots were brimming with confidence after their 1-0 opening win over Haiti for their first World Cup victory in 36 years but were quickly brought down to earth. Their opponents needed less than two minutes to open their account with Saibari slipping in behind the defence to latch on to a Brahim Diaz through ball as defender Grant Hanley stepped out too early, and he powered in his shot for the earliest goal in this World Cup. Saibari, who scored in their 1-1 draw against Brazil last week and has reportedly passed a medical to join German champions Bayern Munich, became only the second African player to score in his first two appearances at the World Cup, after Egypt’s Mohamed Salah. The Moroccans, who saw captain Achraf Hakimi booed by Scottish fans with the player facing a rape trial, came close again when Azzedine Ounahi charged down the left, cut the ball back but a pair of Moroccan players narrowly failed to connect in front of goal. Ounahi had raised eyebrows a day earlier, saying his team were aiming to reach the final, but they showed they mean business as the Scots failed to get a single shot towards goal until deep in first-half stoppage time. Instead they had to play constant catch-up with Moroccans pressing, winning possession and breaking through seemingly at will, with Bilal El Khannouss firing over the bar after yet another superb move. It was one-way traffic after the break with Saibari hitting the post and El Khannouss forcing a good save by goalkeeper Angus Gunn with a glancing header. Scotland tried to pile on the pressure late in the game but despite some late chances, could not find an equaliser. “Had we played another five minutes, we might just have had them,” said Scotland midfielder Ryan Christie. “It’s frustrating. The start to the game wasn’t exactly how we planned it. But we limited them to very little second half and started to play our football. It just wasn’t to be,” he said.