Scotland came into their June 24 Group C fixture against Brazil knowing that a positive result was essentially non-negotiable. What they got instead was a lesson in why defensive errors at this level get punished immediately, and by the very best.
Vinicius Júnior needed just seven minutes to open the scoring, latching onto a costly mistake from Scotland defender Scott McKenna and finishing with the kind of calm that reminds you why he is one of the most dangerous forwards on the planet right now.
How the goal happened
The goal was Brazil’s first of the match and set the tone for everything that followed. Scotland, who had come into the game urgently needing points to keep their knockout-stage hopes alive, found themselves chasing the game from the opening exchanges.
Matheus Cunha added a second goal to seal the result, giving Brazil a 2-0 victory and leaving Scotland with a mountain to climb in terms of their World Cup ambitions.
