MANILA — Brazil secured a place in the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as Neymar Jr. made his much-anticipated tournament debut in a commanding 3-0 victory over Scotland on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.
The five-time world champions booked their ticket to the Round of 16 behind a dominant display led by Vinícius Júnior, who struck twice before Matheus Cunha added another goal, while Neymar delighted Brazilian supporters by returning from injury in the closing stages of the match.
The 34-year-old forward entered in the 76th minute, marking his first appearance of the tournament after missing Brazil’s first two Group C matches because of a right calf injury.
Fans inside Hard Rock Stadium erupted in cheers as the Santos Futebol Clube star came off the bench after chanting his name throughout his second-half warm-up.
Vinícius continued his impressive World Cup campaign by scoring both of his goals in the opening half before Cunha sealed the victory after the break.
The Real Madrid winger has now scored in all three of Brazil’s group-stage matches. His four goals tied him with France’s Kylian Mbappé in the race for the Golden Boot, with only Argentina captain Lionel Messi ahead with five.
Neymar, Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 79 goals in 130 international appearances, is playing in his fourth FIFA World Cup after also competing in the previous three editions.
Scotland, meanwhile, bowed out of the tournament after failing to advance beyond the group stage in its first World Cup appearance since 1998.
In another Group C match, substitutes Soufiane Rahimi and Gessime Yassine sparked Morocco to a dramatic 4-2 comeback victory over Haiti, sending the North Africans into the knockout stage alongside Brazil.
Haiti stunned Morocco with Lenny Joseph’s back-heeled finish in the 10th minute before Achraf Hakimi equalized in the 39th minute.
Wilson Isidor restored Haiti’s lead four minutes later with a long-range strike, but Ismael Saibari leveled the score before halftime.
Rahimi’s deflected effort in the 78th minute put Morocco ahead for the first time, and Yassine sealed the victory with an 89th-minute goal.
Elsewhere, Bosnia-Herzegovina defeated Qatar, 3-1; Switzerland edged Canada, 2-1; Mexico blanked Czechia, 3-0; and South Africa upset South Korea, 1-0./PN
