Brazil thrashes Scotland and tops Group C: Neymar returns to the Canarinha after a 981-day absence

Brazil celebrated in style in Miami on Wednesday. They routed Scotland 3-0 with an unstoppable Vinícius Jr., qualified for the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup as the top team in Group C, and once again welcomed back one of their greatest idols of recent generations: star Neymar Jr., whose return to the five-time champions sent the verdeamarela fans into a frenzy.

With seven points, the Canarinha finishes atop the group tied on points with Morocco, which defeated Haiti 4-2 on Wednesday, but with a better goal differential (+6 versus +3).

On Monday, Brazil will play in Houston against the second-place team in Group F, which is led by the Netherlands and Japan, with one matchday remaining.

The five-time world champions didn’t have to work too hard to dominate a Scotland side that put up a good fight but which made too many defensive mistakes—mistakes that were capitalized on by Vini Jr., who once again led the offense for the team coached by Carlo Ancelotti.

Brazil, on this occasion, fielded a new attacking trio consisting of Vinícius, Matheus Cunha, and the young Rayan, who was chosen by the Italian coach to replace the injured Raphinha: all of them dangerous with the ball, intense in their pressing, and very sharp in one-on-one situations.

The Real Madrid winger—the best player of the match—was a nightmare for the nervous Scottish defense.

On a seemingly harmless play, center back Scott McKenna took too long to clear the ball; Rayan intercepted his pass, and Vinícius capitalized on the rebound in the box to get past goalkeeper Angus Gunn and slot the ball into the empty net.

The gift in the 7th minute foreshadowed a bad night for Scotland, which was determined to take risks from the back. Vinícius kept up the pressure, and after another lapse by the opposing defense, he thought he had scored the second goal, but VAR disallowed the goal due to a foul on center back Jack Hendry.

Backed by their Tartan Army—loud despite the overwhelming majority of yellow-and-green jerseys in the stands—Scotland took control of the ball after the water break. They tried several times to break down the flanks and send crosses into the box against a Brazil lying in wait for a counterattack.

But just as they were playing their best minutes, Scotland made another mistake on the break under pressure from Brazil. Matheus Cunha intercepted the ball, Bruno Guimaraes crossed it to the far post, and Vinícius headed it into the net after Gunn came up short trying to catch the ball in the air.

The Canarinha came close to sealing the match before halftime with a third goal, but Rayan missed his one-on-one chance against Gunn after shaking off the last Scottish defender with a great piece of control.

An Auriverde roar

Scotland didn’t give up in the second half, trying again and again with aerial plays, but to no avail. On the other side, Vinícius persistently sought a hat trick and had several chances to achieve it, but it was Cunha who scored the third goal following a great play by Bruno Guimaraes.

The midfielder received a pass from Casemiro, shook off a defender, drove into the box, and laid the ball off to the Manchester United forward, who scored with ease after beating the defense.

With the 3-0 lead in the bag, the Auriverde fans had only one wish left to fulfill, and Ancelotti granted it in the 76th minute.

A roar from the stands foreshadowed what was about to happen: Neymar, the star who had missed the start of the tournament due to injury, was about to replace Cunha and make his debut in his fourth World Cup.

The No. 10, who looked physically fit but lacked rhythm, managed to take one shot on goal, take several corner kicks, and even set up a chance for Vini Jr. in what could have been his first assist of the tournament.

With him on the field, Miami was a party.

Ancelotti, satisfied, praised his team’s strong performance in his postgame comments.

“We played as a team, and that’s a good thing,” he said. “Now comes the fun part.”

Following this match, Brazil finished first in its group for the twelfth consecutive World Cup, a streak that began in Spain in 1982.

Now, Brazil has only one question: Will Neymar be able to put his physical problems behind him, regain his rhythm, and make an impact in the knockout matches as he has done throughout his career? Perhaps the Brazilian star still has one last dance up his sleeve, against all odds.

Scotland, for its part, finished in third place with three points and will have to wait for the results of the other groups to see if it advances to the next round as one of the eight best third-place teams.

Their coach, Steve Clark, couldn’t hide his disappointment after the match.

“I’m disappointed in the players because they didn’t reach the level they’re capable of,” he said.

With information from AFP