Matheus Cunha (R) scored two goals for Brazil as Haiti was eliminated from the World Cup. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Haiti became the first team to officially be eliminated from World Cup contention Friday night in a 3-0 loss to Brazil.
All three of Brazil’s goals came in the first half thanks to a Matheus Cunha brace and a goal by Vinicius Junior before halftime. Vini Jr. assisted one of Cunha’s goals as the first two came after Haitian turnovers at midfield.
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Cunha’s first goal came off a rebound from a Vini Jr. shot. The second came after he took a through ball from the Real Madrid star and had a classy finish at the top of the net at the near post.
Thanks to Morocco’s win over Scotland earlier in the day, Haiti needed at least a point to keep its World Cup hopes alive. Instead, Brazil and Morocco are tied atop Group C with four points, while Scotland has three. Since Scotland beat Haiti to open the tournament, the Haitians would be on the wrong end of the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Scots if Scotland lost to Brazil in the final group game and Haiti beat Morocco.
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Brazil, which tied Morocco to open the World Cup, is tied with the Moroccans atop the group with four points but has the tiebreaker on goal differential.
Haiti pressed forward for much of the second half to try to score its first goal of the tournament. But it couldn’t seriously threaten Alisson in Brazil’s goal despite doing a good job of maintaining possession in Brazil’s half of the field.
The 2026 World Cup was the first that Haiti qualified for since 1974. The Haitians also failed to get out of the group stage in that World Cup. It’s still a fantastic achievement for Haiti, however, especially considering the team couldn’t play any of its World Cup qualifiers at its home stadium due to domestic unrest.
Brazil suffered a potentially significant injury scare in the first half when Raphinha was forced to leave the game because of an injury. He exited with a disappointed look on his face after going down to the ground without contact and signaled for the athletic training staff to come on the field.
