Online Reporter
BRAZIL punished Scotland’s defensive frailties to advance to the FIFA World Cup’s last 32 on Wednesday as South Africa, Canada and Bosnia-Herzegovina completed a historic hat-trick by progressing to the knock-out rounds for the first time.
Five-time World Cup champions Brazil clinched first place in Group C after defeating Scotland 3-0 in Miami, topping the group on goal difference from second-placed Morocco, who secured their passage after battling to a 4-2 win over Haiti in Atlanta.
South Africa stunned South Korea 1-0 in Monterrey to grab second place in Group A and set up a last 32 clash with Canada, who also made history by advancing in second place from Group B. But Brazil’s victory at the HardRock Stadium left Scotland on the brink of elimination, dampening the mood among the travelling hordes of the famous Tartan Army.
The Scots were left ruing a shaky defensive display as Brazil cruised to a comfortable win.
Vinicius Junior scored twice for Brazil, pouncing on a horrendous blunder by Scott McKenna to fire the South Americans ahead in the seventh minute.
The Real Madrid striker then nodded in Brazil’s second in first-half stoppage-time before Manchester United striker Matheus Cunha added a third in the 60th minute.
Brazil’s win also saw coach Carlo Ancelotti give veteran striker Neymar his first appearance of the tournament, the Selecao’s all-time leading scorer coming on as a second-half substitute.
“We played as a collective and that’s a good thing,” a satisfied Ancelotti said afterwards. “There are many positive things, such as Neymar’s appearance, which can help us.”
The biggest surprise of the day came in Monterrey where South Africa — who began the tournament with an abject 2-0 loss to Mexico – snatched a dramatic 1-0 win over South Korea, who had been favoured to progress.
Thapelo Maseko’s 63rd-minute strike settled a cagey encounter as South Africa advanced after falling at the first hurdle in three previous trips to the World Cup.
“It’s very difficult to explain how it feels – it’s a fantastic experience,” South Africa coach Hugo Broos said.
“We scored and then it was 20 minutes of heart beating and hoping the game should be finished as soon as possible.”
Broos said his team had shut up the “big mouths” after the Bafana Bafana qualified for the World Cup knock-outs for the first time in their history by beating South Korea 1-0 on Wednesday. The African team, playing in the tournament for the fourth time, finished second in Group A behind co-hosts Mexico, who had a perfect record of three wins out of three.
South Africa, who last featured at the World Cup when they hosted it in 2010, were widely written off after their 2-0 loss to Mexico in their opening match.
But they battled to a draw against the Czech Republic and came out on top in what was effectively a shoot-out for second place in Monterrey, thanks to Maseko’s second-half strike.
“I’m very proud of the performance of my team and I think we gave an answer to all those big mouths of the last weeks that thought that we had to change something,” said a defiant Broos.
“We just did what we did. We just did what I wanted to do and this is the result.”
The 74-year-old, who has been at the helm since 2021, said reaching the second round was an emotional moment for South Africa.
“I said it already in the past that probably it will be one of the last games of my career and when you can end a career like I had in this way, I think everybody or every coach dreams of it.” The Belgian said he had always believed in his players despite harsh criticism aimed at them.
“Between me as a coach and them as players is yes, maybe something unique — I’m the coach, but I’m not a coach,” he said.
“I think I’m a friend of theirs. So, the relationship between the players and me, this is very good.” South Africa will face Canada, one of the tournament co-hosts, in Los Angeles on Sunday, with a place in the last 16 up for grabs. “I just know that the players will be ready again and try to achieve the third round,” said Broos.
“It should be even more historic. But those players are chasing those things. Those players want to prove to every-one and to show that they are a good team. So we will see next Sunday if we can go further.”
South Africa will face World Cup co-hosts Canada in Los Angeles on Sunday in the opening game of the knock-out rounds.
The Canadians qualified for the second round for the first time in history as runners-up in Group B despite a 2-1 loss to Switzerland in Vancouver earlier Wednesday.
Canada claimed second place in Group B on goal difference ahead of third-placed Bosnia-Herzegovina, 3-1 winners over Qatar.
Bosnia were celebrating later on Wednesday when FIFA confirmed they had qualified as one of the best of the eight third-placed teams, their four-point haul proving enough to send them through into the knock-out stages for the first time.
In the day’s other game, Mexico — who had already secured top spot in Group A with two opening wins — completed their first round with a 100 percent record after romping past Czechia 3-0 in the Estadio Azteca.
Mexico move on to a last-32 match in the same stadium on June 30 while the Czechs return home after finishing bottom of the group. — AFP Sport.
