Vinicius stars as Brazil ease past Scotland to top Group C

Vinicius Junior scored twice as Brazil cruised to a 3-0 win over Scotland at Miami Stadium in Miami Gardens on Wednesday to top Group C at FIFA World Cup 2026.

With the brace, Vinicius is now level with Norway’s Erling Haaland and France’s Kylian Mbappe, one behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi in the World Cup scoring charts.

Brazil (2-1-0, 7 points) finished atop the group on goal difference (6 vs. 3) after Morocco beat Haiti in the simultaneous Group C clash in Atlanta.

Brazil took an early lead in the match when Vinicius scored in the seventh minute.

Scott McKenna made a disastrous mistake while trying to play out from the back. The defender held onto the ball too long and was chased down by Rayan.

The Bournemouth forward snatched the ball from him and passed it to Vinicius, who calmly took a few touches, went around Angus Gunn, and put it into the empty net.

Vinicius scored his second goal of the match in stoppage time to double Brazil’s lead, heading home from a Bruno Guimaraes assist. Once again, Scotland failed to clear their lines.

Andy Robertson played a lazy ball out from the back, which was intercepted and capitalised on by the Brazilians.

Guimaraes provided a second assist of the match as Brazil scored their third goal in the 60th minute.

Casemiro found Guimaraes, who drove centrally with purpose. He had the option to shoot or slide it wide, but he chose the unselfish route, passing it to fellow Premier League star Matheus Cunha, who scored his third World Cup goal.

Neymar Jr’s return to Brazil’s colours for the first time since October 2023 stole the spotlight. He came on in the 76th minute to replace Cunha and was greeted with warm applause from the crowd.

At the same time in Atlanta, Morocco beat Haiti 4-2 in the other Group C clash of the FIFA World Cup 2026 to claim second position in the group.