Matheus Cunha Made a Statement as Brazil’s No. 9. The Internet Had a Lot to Say.

Brazil rolled past Haiti 3-0 on Friday, and if you blinked, you might have missed the part where it wasn’t as clean as the scoreline suggests. The first half was a fireworks show. The second half was more like someone forgot to pay the electric bill.

Matheus Cunha wore the No. 9 shirt and played like he’d been waiting his whole life for the chance. He scored, he pressed, he made Haiti’s backline look like they were running in sand. Vini Jr. was, well, Vini Jr. — dancing past defenders, drawing fouls, setting up goals. Lucas Paquetá pulled strings in the midfield like he had the cheat codes. Add in the debuts of Rayan and Endrick, and you had a night that felt like a statement.

The Good

Cunha’s performance had fans online calling him the real heir to the No. 9. One post put it bluntly: “Good thing he’s OURS!” Another simply asked, “Which Matheus Cunha is he talking about?” The implication being that the question answered itself. He was that good.

Vini Jr. drew specific praise for his second-half energy — a moment where he picked the ball up near midfield, beat two guys, and nearly scored had people saying he was “REALLY dancing.” Another fan wrote, “He was CALLED INTO ACTION,” which tracks when you watch how often Haiti needed to foul him just to slow things down.

The Criticism

But not everyone was buying the full hype. Brazil came out of the locker room after halftime looking like a different team. Haiti had more of the ball, more chances, and if not for a couple of decent saves, this could have gotten tight. Social media noticed. One comment read, “People were being pretty harsh…” which is basically code for: they were right, but it stings to admit it.

Another fan posted a photo of what looked like a bumpy, worn-out pitch and asked, “Was the pitch like this in the 2nd half?” Which is the kind of sideways criticism that says more about the performance than any stat line.

Context Matters

Haiti isn’t a World Cup contender. Brazil was expected to win, and they did. But the second-half dip raises a question that’s been following this team for a while: Can they sustain intensity for 90 minutes against better sides? The debuts of Rayan and Endrick are exciting for the future, but the present still has edges that need smoothing.

For now, though, the takeaway is simple. Cunha looked like a real No. 9. Vini looked like the best player on the pitch. And Brazil got the win. The messy half is something to fix in training. The good stuff? That’s what fans will remember.