Vini scores a brace as Brazil beat Scotland to win World Cup group

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida - Vinícius Júnior made it look easy. So did Brazil.

Vinícius scored two goals — one of them practically into an empty net to open the scoring — and five-time World Cup champions Brazil beat Scotland 3-0 yesterday and advanced to the knockout stage as the Group C winners.

Vinícius — who has a goal in all three of Brazil’s group matches — scored in the seventh minute and again just before halftime, tying Norway’s Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé of France with four goals, one behind Lionel Messi of Argentina.

Matheus Cunha also scored for the Seleção, who reached the knockout rounds for the 15th consecutive World Cup. Morocco finished second in the group and also advanced, rallying to beat Haiti 4-2.

After a lacklustre 1-1 draw against Morocco in their  opener, Brazil — facing pressure to win their first World Cup title since 2002 — followed with a 3-0 win over Haiti, and coach Carlo Ancelotti said he saw gradual improvement from his team during the group stage.

“We are working to play the best that we can,” he said. “But the goal is not to play well. We know that playing well is easier to win, but the goal is to win. ... If we win the World Cup, we played well. If we don’t win the World Cup, we played really bad.”

Taking advantage of an early Scotland mistake Vinícius received a pass from 19-year-old striker Rayan and took a quick touch to get by goalkeeper Angus Gunn for an easy finish and a 1-0 lead. He capitalised on another miscue by the Scots later in the first half with a header from close range.

Neymar entered as a substitute in the 76th, making his debut after a right calf injury sidelined him for Brazil’s first two matches. The majority-Brazilian crowd at Hard Rock Stadium began chanting his name midway through the second half as he got off the bench and began doing warmup sprints on the sideline — and fans roared as he trotted onto the pitch.

Neymar is Brazil’s career scoring leader with 79 goals in 130 international appearances. The 34-year-old forward appeared in each of the past three World Cups for Brazil, scoring eight goals.