🎥 Brazil treble but Raphinha worry 🚑 Saibari lifts Morocco: Scotland 🤬

🎥 Brazil treble but Raphinha worry 🚑 Saibari lifts Morocco: Scotland 🤬

During the night, the two matches from Group C were played, the one featuring Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, and Haiti.

💡 Want to stay up to date with everything happening in the USA, Mexico, and Canada? Don’t forget to bookmark the World Cup! To follow the competition, search for “World Cup” on OneFootball and click the star next to it so you don’t miss a single piece of news!

Let’s take a look at how the two matches went and the current standings.

📌 SCOTLAND - MOROCCO

Morocco took a big step toward qualifying for the round of 16 by beating Scotland 1-0 and moving up to four points in the group. Once again, Saibari made the difference, after already scoring against Brazil, netting the winner after just 72 seconds thanks to a brilliant piece of play from Brahim Diaz.

After the goal, Morocco took control of the match, going close several times to doubling their lead through Hakimi’s bursts forward and the plays of their most talented players. Scotland tried to stay in the game and also appealed for two questionable incidents in the box, but struggled badly to create danger. Clarke’s men never managed to hit the target and suffered a defeat that seriously complicates their path to qualification.

⚽ Saibari in 72 seconds, but Brahim Diaz’s play was PURE GENIUS

As mentioned, Morocco needed just 72 seconds to break the deadlock and take home the three points. Brahim Diaz received the ball on the right, looked up, and produced a wonderful ball in behind the Scottish defense. Saibari read it all early, timed his run right on the edge of offside, and after leaving Hanley behind, controlled the bounce before smashing a powerful right-footed shot past Gunn and into the net for 1-0.

The move was a perfect snapshot of Morocco’s superiority and the talent of the Brahim-Saibari duo. The first lit up the game between the lines with his quality and vision, while the second confirmed his extraordinary form: after scoring against Brazil, he struck again against Scotland, also hitting the crossbar in the second half. Two top-class performances — with Pep Guardiola watching from the stands — that pushed the Atlas Lions to a hugely important win in the race for qualification.

⚠️ Two penalty appeals, furious Scotland

Scotland fell to a 1-0 defeat and saw their road to qualification become significantly more difficult. After Saibari’s early goal, Clarke’s men tried to respond, especially in the second half, but spent a long time protesting two disputed incidents in the Moroccan box.

First McGinn and then McTominay asked for a penalty over alleged illegal contact, but neither the referee nor VAR intervened. The most controversial moment came in the second half and involved the Scotland captain, who burst into the box and went down after contact with El Aynaoui, immediately appealing for a penalty. The protests were intense, but the referee waved play on and VAR gave no signal for a review.

Two decisions that fueled the Scots’ anger, convinced they had been hard done by at key moments in the game. In the end, though, the defeat remains: Scotland will have to play for everything in their final match against Brazil.

🔊 Hakimi targeted by boos

Achraf Hakimi was booed throughout the match by the fans in the stands. The Morocco captain has come under the spotlight after French justice authorities ordered him to stand trial on rape charges, accusations always denied by the PSG player. Despite the hostile atmosphere, Hakimi delivered a high-level performance and was among the key figures in Morocco’s 1-0 win over Scotland.

😅 What a BATTLE for El Aynaoui

Neil El Aynaoui had a truly eventful match against Scotland. In the first half, the Moroccan midfielder took a nasty blow to the knee from McTominay, was left bleeding, and kept playing with a handkerchief clenched between his teeth.

As if that weren’t enough, in the second half during a corner kick, an opponent literally tore his shirt off. Between heavy challenges, blood, and a ruined shirt, El Aynaoui still gritted his teeth until the end and helped Morocco secure a precious win.

📌 BRAZIL - HAITI

Brazil got back to smiling and swept Haiti aside 3-0, picking up their first World Cup win and moving to the top of Group C. Ancelotti’s move proved decisive: out went Igor Thiago, in came Matheus Cunha, who repaid the faith with a brilliant brace and stole the show in Philadelphia.

The breakthrough came in the 23rd minute, when Cunha reacted quickest to a rebound after a Vinicius effort. Shortly before halftime, Brazil’s new center-forward also made it 2-0 with a wonderful left-footed strike under the bar from a tight angle. Then, in first-half stoppage time, Vinicius Jr added the third after a brilliant assist from Paquetá.

In the second half, Brazil comfortably managed their lead, also giving Endrick some minutes on his World Cup debut. The only negative note for Ancelotti was Raphinha’s muscle injury, which forced him off before the break. For Haiti, meanwhile, it was a second straight defeat and mathematical elimination from the tournament.

⭐ Cunha STAR of the night: a brace worth 3 points

Cunha made Brazil his own with a dream night. The turning point came in the 23rd minute, when Vinicius Jr tested the Haitian goalkeeper and the forward was quickest of all to pounce on the rebound, poking the ball home from close range for Brazil’s 1-0 lead.

Ancelotti’s new starting striker struck again in the 36th minute with a piece of top-class quality: played in on the right side of the box, Cunha unleashed a powerful left-footed shot while almost off balance and smashed the ball under the bar at the near post. A spectacular goal that sealed his brace and effectively decided the match.

🔥 Vini SHINES again: another outstanding display

After his brilliant goal against Morocco, Vinicius Junior scored again, and not only that.

It was from his saved shot, in fact, that Matheus Cunha’s opener came, with the striker quickest to convert from close range. Shortly after, Brazil’s number 7 made his mark again with a perfect pass that sent Cunha through for the temporary 2-0.

The reward for a dominant performance came in first-half stoppage time. Paquetá produced a brilliant through ball, Vinicius attacked the space, and in front of Placide he kept his cool, making it 3-0 with a precise low diagonal finish. One goal and two decisive plays for the Real Madrid superstar, increasingly the attacking leader of Ancelotti’s Seleção.

🚑 Raphinha concern: World Cup over? Neymar returns: Ancelotti announces it 🔙

For every key player found — Cunha — Ancelotti risks losing one of his undisputed stars for the rest of the World Cup: Raphinha.

The Barcelona winger was forced off in the 40th minute of the first half after suffering a physical problem that appears to involve his hamstring. In the coming hours, the Brazilian will undergo tests to assess the extent of the injury.

Carlo Ancelotti, however, can take comfort from good news ahead of the final group match against Scotland. In his press conference, the head coach confirmed Neymar’s return, with the number 10 having so far been sidelined by a calf problem. He is now ready to come back and boost the Seleção’s attacking firepower at the decisive moment of the World Cup.

🧮 Everything still open in Group C

As expected, Brazil, Morocco, and Scotland will battle for the two available spots in the round of 32 on the final matchday of the group. The verdicts will come in the night of June 25, when the three favorites take the field to complete the race for qualification.

The other verdict, however, is already final: with the defeat against Brazil, Haiti suffered their second loss in two matches and became the first team mathematically eliminated from Group C.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.