Brazil beat Haiti 3-0, but World Cup concerns remain

Brazil got the result they needed in Philadelphia, but not the authority many expected. Matheus Cunha scored twice and Vinicius Junior added a third before halftime in a 3-0 win over Haiti on June 19, yet Brazil faded after a fast start and were outshot 7-2 after the break, a flat finish that did little to silence the doubts hanging over a team supposed to contend for the title.

The victory gave Brazil their first win of the tournament after a 1-1 opening draw with Morocco in New Jersey, lifting Carlo Ancelotti’s side to four points from two Group C matches. That left Brazil edging ahead of Morocco on goal difference and headed for a crucial meeting with Scotland in Miami, a match that may say more about Brazil’s ceiling than either of their first two outings. Haiti, meanwhile, became the first team eliminated from the 48-team World Cup after the loss.

Brazil took control early and turned the game before halftime. Cunha scored in the 23rd and 36th minutes, and Vinicius Junior added the third deep into first-half stoppage time, giving Brazil the cushion they had lacked against Morocco. But the second half exposed a familiar concern: Brazil could not add to their tally, and Haiti, despite having only two shots to Brazil’s seven after the interval, still created enough danger to keep the contest from feeling settled.

Ancelotti had viewed Haiti as a chance to repair the flaws exposed in the Morocco draw, and he later called the display a “complete performance.” The scoreline offered him room to argue that Brazil are improving, but the broader picture remains less forgiving. In a 48-team tournament with 104 matches across the United States, Canada and Mexico, Brazil have looked more like a side searching for rhythm than one ready to impose itself.

That unease is sharpened by the wider conversation around the tournament. A poll of economists projected France to win the World Cup and Brazil to be the biggest flop, a blunt assessment that now trails Brazil from one group match to the next. France and Argentina have looked sharper in the United States, while Brazil have yet to produce the kind of sustained performance that would make their status as contenders feel secure. For now, the scoreboard says Brazil are advancing; the evidence on the field says the final judgment is still very much open.