Brazil rounded off its World Cup 2026 group-stage campaign in style on Wednesday, defeating Scotland 3-0 to secure first place in Group E.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side produced arguably its strongest performance of the tournament, pressing aggressively from kickoff and capitalizing on a series of Scottish defensive mistakes.
Just seven minutes in, Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. pounced on a misplaced pass inside Scotland’s penalty area to open the scoring. He doubled Brazil’s lead on the stroke of halftime, heading home a cross from Bruno Guimarães. He could’ve had a hat-trick if not for having a goal controversially disallowed due to an attacking foul in the 22nd minute.
The goals made Vinicius only the fifth player in Brazil’s history to score in all three group-stage matches of a World Cup, joining Jairzinho (1970), Romário (1994), Rivaldo (2002) and Ronaldo Nazário (2002).
Scotland improved after the break, but Brazil put the result beyond doubt in the 60th minute. Guimarães again provided the assist, setting up Matheus Cunha to finish off a swift counterattack.
