Brazil did exactly what you’d expect them to do against Haiti in their second World Cup group match on Friday night in Philadelphia. They dominated from the opening whistle and put up a 3-0 lead by halftime. The final score ended up being 3-0, but the win came with a potentially serious injury concern for Barcelona’s Raphinha.
This wasn’t just a routine win. It was a statement of intent from a Brazil side that looked sharp, connected, and hungry. Matheus Cunha and Vinicius Jr. each bagged a brace in the first half, and honestly it could have been worse for Haiti.
Raphinha thought he’d opened the scoring early, but the flag went up for offside. He had another chance moments later, a one-on-one with the keeper, but pushed it wide. Then the real show started.
Vinicius and Cunha Link Up
Matheus Cunha got the first one in classic poacher fashion. Vini Jr. let one rip from distance, the Haitian keeper spilled it, and Cunha was right there to clean up the rebound. That’s the kind of instinct you want from your No. 9.
Then Lucas Paquetá forced a turnover in midfield, slipped the ball to Vini Jr., who found Cunha making a run into the box. Cunha didn’t hesitate and absolutely buried it. Two-nil, and Haiti looked shell-shocked.
Paquetá turned provider again a few minutes later. He picked out Vini Jr. making a run in behind, and the Real Madrid star finished calmly past the keeper to make it 3-0 before halftime.
Raphinha Goes Down
The buzzkill of the first half was Raphinha grabbing the back of his right thigh and signaling to the bench. He was replaced by Rayan, and the team hasn’t confirmed the extent of the injury yet. Given Brazil’s depth — they’ve got Gabriel Martinelli, Endrick, and Luiz Henrique on the bench — they can absorb the loss. But you never want to lose a starter this early in the tournament.
Neymar didn’t travel with the squad and is still recovering from whatever’s been keeping him out. So Brazil is already missing their biggest star. Losing Raphinha too would sting.
Carlo Ancelotti had a loaded bench to work with: Ederson, Weverton, Ibañez, Bremer, Léo Pereira, Alex Sandro, Ederson Santos, Danilo Santos, Fabinho, Martinelli, Luiz Henrique, Endrick, and Igor Thiago. That’s depth most teams would kill for.
Brazil will take the three points and the clean sheet. The question now is whether Raphinha’s injury is minor or something that keeps him out for the rest of the group stage.
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