By Ian Nicholas Quillen
PHILADELPHIA, June 19 (Reuters) – Brazil forward Matheus Cunha rewarded manager Carlo Ancelotti’s backing with his first two goals at a World Cup as the five-times champions cruised to a 3-0 victory over Haiti on Friday to eliminate their opponents.
Vinicius Junior also scored in the first half and was the creator for both of Cunha’s strikes before an apparent leg injury forced winger Raphinha off in the 40th minute.
Overall, it was a much-improved effort from the Selecao’s 1-1 draw against Morocco to open their tournament and a result that puts Brazil on four points above the Atlas Lions in Group C on goal difference.
“It was what I expected from this match to have a better quality of this match,” Ancelotti said. “Fewer mistakes. More effectiveness at the forward (positions) and more control at the back. And I think this was a good match.”
Haiti became the first team at the World Cup out of contention for the knockout phase after Morocco’s 1-0 win over Scotland, who have three points, earlier on Friday. Haiti are bottom with no points.
Even so, they clearly enjoyed their second appearance at the finals and first since 1974 and, despite a lineup that suggested a low block, showed admirable endeavour in front of a vocal red-and-blue-clad minority.
“They showed that they deserved to be here at this World Cup,” Haiti manager Sebastian Migne said of his players. “And unfortunately, we played against Brazil, and there was too much of a gap.”
Centre back Ricardo Ade came closest to scoring for the Caribbean side after halftime when his flashing, near-post header from a corner forced Alisson into a reaction save.
CUNHA AMONG TWO BRAZIL CHANGES
Cunha was one of two changes by Ancelotti, slotted in for Igor Thiago at centre-forward. With the Manchester United man involved, the Brazilian attack looked much more connected than six days prior, albeit against a lesser opponent.
“Of course we have to improve,” Ancelotti said. “We have improved and we will improve for the next match.”
Eventually, they punished the enthusiastic Haitians after a bright first 15 minutes from the underdogs.
For Brazil’s first goal after 23 minutes, Cunha’s pressure forced the ball over the line on centre back Hannes Delcroix’s attempted clearance after Johny Placide could only parry Vinicius’ initial attempt.
It was 2-0 in the 36th minute on a counterattack from a Haitian turnover.
Vinicius slipped a ball into the path of Cunha’s well-timed diagonal run and, while he appeared to stumble, the forward still struck a strong finish into the top corner as Placide leaned in the wrong direction.
It was unclear why Raphinha dropped to his haunches moments after the second goal, on a night where he had one apparent early goal ruled offside and another glaring miss after a move which also brought a raised flag.
Vinicius’ strike came in stoppage time before the break when he ran onto Lucas Paqueta’s ball over the top and finished low past the charging Placide to effectively settle the contest.
(Reporting by Ian Nicholas Quillen; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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