Ancelotti hails Vinicius after firing Brazil into round of 32

Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti hailed Vinicius Junior as "one of the best players in the world", after the Real Madrid forward continued his excellent World Cup form with a brace in Wednesday's 3-0 win over Scotland.

Vinicius scored twice in the first half in Miami, including a header, to set Brazil on its way to a victory which allowed it to progress to the last 32 as winner of Group C.

"I had no doubts about how he would be coming into this World Cup," said Ancelotti of the 25-year-old, who has four goals in three games at this year's tournament.

"For him, it is an honor to play for the national team. He is playing well, and he even scored a header, which is very rare for him.

"I knew all about what Vini could do. He is one of the best players in the world," added Ancelotti, who managed the forward for four years at Real Madrid.

Vinicius scored in Brazil's opening 1-1 draw with Morocco and also netted in the 3-0 victory over Haiti.

His latest brace puts him level with France's Kylian Mbappe and Norway's Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race, with that trio all on four goals, one behind Lionel Messi.

He is the first Brazilian to score in all three group matches at a World Cup since Ronaldo and Rivaldo both achieved the feat in 2002.

The only other Brazilian players to find the net in all three group games are Jairzinho, in 1970, and Romario in 1994 — that is illustrious company to keep, and Brazil went on to lift the trophy every time one of its players did that in the past.

"I always say I am not that bothered about numbers. I am not used to scoring so many goals, but the coach has moved me into a position to which I have adapted well, and now I am scoring and helping the team," Vinicius told Brazilian broadcaster CazeTV.

"Hopefully, I can keep going to the final. I am very happy with the work being done by the team. If everyone is playing well, the ball will arrive in attacking areas and we will have chances to score goals," he added.

'The passion of a kid'

Matheus Cunha got Brazil's other goal against Scotland, before the Manchester United player was replaced by Neymar, who made his first appearance for his country since October 2023.

"He deserved to come on. He has worked hard and trained hard to recover fitness. He has done it very professionally," Ancelotti said of Brazil's all-time top scorer.

"He needs no motivation to play for Brazil, none of the players do. He is 34, but he has the same passion for playing football as a kid."

With Neymar the final piece to slot in, do Ancelotti's men have the tools to mount a challenge for the title?

"Compared to the first game, we are making fewer errors, playing with more rhythm, and we are more clinical up front," added Ancelotti.

"Now we are really playing as a team, and that was one of the aims. We are not perfect, we have things to improve on.

"But, I am very happy, because we have gotten better and we are solid now. It's really important to be solid in the knockout rounds."

Self-inflicted defeat

Scotland coach Steve Clarke believes his team will soon be heading home from its first World Cup in 28 years after what he viewed as a largely self-inflicted defeat.

The Scots, with three points, still technically have a chance of progressing to the knockout stages at a World Cup for the first time as one of eight third-placed teams with the best records across the 12 groups.

As things stand, Scotland has the seventh-best record, but Clarke clearly believes that, with 18 group matches remaining, it will be overtaken.

"Fair result," he said. "You give a team like Brazil the chances that we gave them, you expect to get punished, and that's what happened. I think we're probably going home.

"We know they're deadly in the attacking third of the pitch, and we gave them, for sure, the first two goals, probably the third goal as well.

"So, we gave them the goals, but on the counter of that, they also missed a few chances and Angus (Gunn) had to make a few good saves. We created one or two chances, but nothing really clean."

Clarke's frustration with his team's performance on Wednesday was clear, but he said he was not angry with the players who got Scotland to its first World Cup since France in 1998.

"I'm disappointed for them, because they didn't reach the levels that they can reach," he said.

"I think we all know that. Anybody that's watched this team over the last few years knows that we didn't reach the levels that we can reach."

The former Chelsea fullback said the campaign had also exposed structural issues in Scottish soccer that needed addressing.

"I think when you see the physicality, the power and the technique of both Morocco and Brazil, you can see that we have to do something about it," he said.

"We have to try and be better at producing young players that can grace the world stage."

Atlas Lions roar on

While Brazil now heads to Houston to play the runner-up in Group F — either the Netherlands, Japan or Sweden — Morocco will head to Monterrey, Mexico, to face the Group F winner. Both games will be played Monday.

The Atlas Lions twice fought back against plucky Haiti for a 4-2 win in Atlanta to finish level in Group C with Brazil on seven points, but finished runners-up on goal difference.

AFP