Cunha and Vinicius send discordant Brazil to leading group C, eliminate Haiti from 2026 FIFA World Cup

Brazilian supporters are used to turning football stadiums around the world into temporary outposts of their home country. Their traveling fans arrive in droves, while generations of neutrals, drawn by the romance of the yellow shirt, continue to expand their ranks. The stands at Lincoln Financial Field also wore the familiar canary yellow hue, but there were also strong accents of Haitian blue, red and white.

The New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tri-state area and Philadelphia are home to one of the largest Haitian communities in the United States, and for one evening that diaspora transformed a fixture that looked lopsided on paper into something more balanced in the stands.

On the pitch, however, Brazil’s 3-0 victory quickly cemented the divide between the five-time world champions and a country that has not played a competitive home game on its own soil since June 2021, with political instability and gang violence forcing football into exile. Haiti, defeated for the second time in Group C, became the first team to be eliminated from this World Cup.

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Brazil’s breakthrough came just before the first hydration break when Johny Placide deflected Vinicius Junior’s drive, and the rebound deflected off Hannes Delcroix and then Matheus Cunha before trickling over the line.

However, there was nothing accidental about Cunha’s second attack. After Haiti squandered possession in their own half, Brazil needed just two touches through Casemiro and Vinicius to release the Manchester United striker, who unleashed an unstoppable strike into the roof of the net.

Haiti’s dangerously high line fell apart again before half-time when Lucas Paqueta placed a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Vinicius, who raced clear before slotting past a powerless Placide for his second goal in as many games.

The Haitians looked much calmer after the break, with Ruben Providence combining effectively on the left with Martin Experience to give the Caribbean side sustained spells of possession. They almost found reward in the 63rd minute, when Ricardo Ade rose highest to reach a corner, before Alisson Becker produced a sharp save to punch his header away from danger.

Brazil started the day with its oldest World Cup line-up since the 1962 final. It ended with two teenagers on the pitch – Endrick and Rayan – for the first time since the 1958 World Cup, when 18-year-old Jose Altafini and 17-year-old Pele represented the future of Brazilian football. The rest, as everyone knows, is history. It remains to be seen whether this generation can cast a shadow for as long.

Published on June 20, 2026