Brazil took an early lead and held on for a 1-0 first-half advantage over Scotland in Miami, as the two sides met in Group C at the World Cup. Vinicius scored in the 7th minute after Scotland tried to play out from the back and Ryan made a costly mistake, allowing Brazil to pounce. Vinicius later had a second goal disallowed in the 22nd minute for a marginal foul call.
The match came after Brazil’s 3-0 win over Haiti, a result that left Carlo Ancelotti’s team close to qualification for the knockout stage. Brazil still wanted first place in the group, and for that it needed a victory over Scotland while also keeping a better goal difference than Morocco, which was playing Haiti at the same time and also had four points. Ancelotti was without injured Raphinha and replaced him with the 19-year-old Ryan from Bournemouth. Matheus Cunha kept his place up front after scoring twice against Haiti, while Neymar was on the bench and waiting for his first minutes of the tournament after recovering from injury.
Scotland, at its first World Cup since 1998, was chasing a first-ever place in the knockout rounds. It could still advance from third place, even with a loss, depending on results elsewhere, but a heavy defeat would damage its chances. Kieran Tierney had recovered from the injury that forced him off against Morocco, but he still lost his place to Ben Gannon-Doak. Lawrence Shankland started at center forward, while Kenny McLean and Scott McKenna were both handed their first starts.
