Scotland out of the World Cup pressure deepened in Miami as Brazil won 3-0 and Vinicius Jr struck twice before the break. Scotland were still technically in contention for the last 32, but the defeat left their hopes on the brink and their fate tied to other results.
Vinicius Jr opens the gap
Vinicius Jr scored after seven minutes, then added a second before halftime. Brazil controlled the match from there and Scotland never found a route back.
Alisson’s side also kept Scotland at arm’s length with five saves in a game that never let Steve Clarke’s team settle. The scoreline removed the buffer Scotland had been carrying in the best third-placed teams race.
McGinn and Clarke
Before the games began on Wednesday, Scotland were sitting relatively pretty as second of the best third-placed teams in the tournament. Bosnia-Herzegovina's win over Qatar then dropped them to third, and Brazil's dominance pushed them further back.
McGinn summed up the mood with “Think we're going home,” while Clarke’s reaction carried the same warning. Scotland were looking at the fates of Senegal and Ecuador, Curacao and Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and others, because their place in the last 32 no longer sat in their own hands.
Scotland return to Charlotte
The predictor had Scotland playing Mexico on Tuesday, and the trip back to Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday underlined how quickly the picture had shifted. Scotland now need results elsewhere to go their way while the tournament’s third-placed table keeps moving around them.
O Globo summed up the evening with the line “Lacking competitiveness on the pitch, Scotland put on a show with their fans.” That was the distance between the contest and Scotland’s problem: the support was there, but the points were not.
