Brazil have finally woken up. After a stuttering start to their World Cup campaign that left the rest of the group licking their lips, the Seleção p...
Brazil have finally woken up. After a stuttering start to their World Cup campaign that left the rest of the group licking their lips, the Seleção produced a ruthless, controlled performance to dismantle Haiti 3. 0 and take a giant stride towards the knockout rounds.This was not the pantomime samba show of old. This was cold, calculated football laced with moments of individual genius that only the finest talents can deliver. Vinícius Júnior, so often accused of flattering to deceive on the international stage, stepped up when it mattered most. He opened the scoring with a trademark burst of acceleration that left the Haitian defence for dead, a finish so clinical it felt inevitable. But it was his partnership with Matheus Cunha that truly caught the eye.Cunha, that bustling, intelligent forward who never seems to know when he is beaten, was the beneficiary of Vinícius's creativity for the second goal. The Real Madrid man slipped a perfectly weighted pass through a congested low block, and Cunha did the rest, taking a touch to compose himself before smashing the ball into the roof of the net. His second was a poacher's effort, a scrappy, determined finish that came from reading the play a split second quicker than anyone else. Two goals, a performance full of graft and guile. Not bad for a forward who has had to scrap for his starting place.For Haiti, this was the end of the road. They become the first team eliminated from the tournament, and while they fought with the kind of pride you would expect, they simply lacked the quality to trouble a Brazilian side that looked a different animal from the one that laboured to a draw with Morocco. Questions were asked after that opening game. Was this Brazil side too reliant on individual brilliance Did they have the stomach for a scrap against a well organised opponent This response, emphatic and disciplined, suggests the critics may have been premature.Can Brazil sustain this level The group is still wide open, but this performance will send a shiver through the rest of the draw. When Vinícius runs at defenders like that, and when Cunha finishes with such conviction, this team is a nightmare to contain. The knockout stages beckon, and on this evidence, nobody will fancy drawing the yellow shirts. Squeaky bum time for everyone else, I reckon. Brazil are coming.As for Haiti, they exit with heads held high but with a harsh lesson in the gulf in class at this level. Their tournament is over, but they can take heart from moments of resistance here. This, however, was Brazil's night. Emphatically so.
