Read 4 minutes25 Jun 2026 06:35 AM IST
Brazil made short work of Scotland The mercurials made it 3-0 courtesy of a brace from Vinicius Jr. and a solitary strike from Mathews Cunha. The result saw the Selecao top the group stage for the 12th consecutive World Cup.
One of the biggest things to come out of this match is Neymar Jr’s return to Brazil colors from October 2023. The 34-year-old has been recovering from a calf strain and last played for Santos in Brazil’s top flight on May 17. The Brazilian superstar checked in in the 76th minute to give the team a good lead against Scotland. A place in the playoffs starting next week.
Entering Wednesday, Neymar is Brazil’s career leading scorer with 79 goals in 129 international appearances. The 34-year-old has scored eight goals in each of the last three World Cups for Brazil.
“We played well, it was like the match against Haiti (3-0 win). It was a more complete performance and we are happy. Now comes the best part… There were many positives, we didn’t concede a goal. Neymar’s identity is important and can help us a lot,” coach Carlo Ancelotti said after the match.
As for him and Brazil’s opponents Scotland, they now have to wait to see if they can finish as one of the 8 best third-placed teams and qualify for the next round. Only time will tell. Take a day or two to see. As a collective we didn’t want to be put in a position where we had to watch every game and hope for the best. If you ask me now, I don’t think that’s enough. I don’t think we’ve done enough. Time will tell, maybe I’ll be proven wrong and we’ll get another shot. I hope so. The next few days will be scary and long. We have to deal with it,” said captain Andrew Robertson after the match.
Morocco is afraid
Morocco were given a first-half scare by an already depleted Haiti when the minnows took the lead twice as the Atlas Lions ran out 4-2 winners at full-time. Morocco goalkeeper Yassin Bouno gave Mexico the lead before Achraf Hakimi equalized with Lenny Joseph’s backhand effort. Wilson would then score a thunderous Isidore strike before Ismail Saibari equalized again to leave the teams level at 2-2 at half-time.
In the second half, Morocco denied Haiti their first points of the World Cup when two late goals from member Sofiane Rahimi and Yassin Gessim helped them win the match and qualify for the Round of 3 as the second-placed team in Group C, just behind Brazil on goal difference.
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Messi celebrated his 39th birthday
Lionel Messi celebrated his 39th birthday Wednesday during a World Cup that, so far at least, has brought him nothing but joy: Defending champions Argentina have already qualified for the knockout stages and their captain has become the tournament’s career scoring leader. Messi marked the occasion with his teammates at Argentina’s training base in Kansas City, Missouri. This is his sixth World Cup and his fifth birthday during the tournament. The exception was the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which was played in November and December.
Messi has scored all of Argentina’s goals so far: three in a win over Algeria and two more in a win over Austria. He has 18 in his World Cup career, two better than Miroslav Klose and Kylian Mbappe. On social media, Messi shared a photo of himself with a cake with some of his teammates. The cake was from Pan Caliente, a Kansas City bakery owned by an Argentinian pastry chef. In another picture, Argentina’s players pose with Messi, all wearing T-shirts bearing a personal photo of themselves with the captain.
(with agency input)