Five-time world champions Brazil continued their impressive World Cup campaign on Saturday with a commanding 3-0 victory over Haiti in their second-round clash.

Naija News reports that a brace from Matheus Cunha and another goal from Vinicius Junior handed Carlo Ancelotti’s side a comfortable win as the Selecao took another major step towards the knockout stage.

Brazil dominated possession, created the better chances and overwhelmed Haiti with superior attacking quality from the opening stages of the encounter.

Brazil’s pressure eventually paid off in the 23rd minute after Vinicius Junior was initially denied by Haiti goalkeeper Johny Placide.

Cunha reacted quickest to the rebound inside the penalty area and calmly slotted the ball into an empty net to give Brazil the lead.

The Video Assistant Referee briefly checked the goal for a possible offside before it was eventually confirmed.

After going in front, Brazil continued to dictate play and doubled their advantage 13 minutes later.

Vinicius Junior produced a clever through pass to release Cunha inside the box, and the striker made no mistake as he fired a clinical finish into the top corner to make it 2-0.

Haiti struggled to cope with Brazil’s attacking movement, with Vinicius Junior, Raphinha and Lucas Paqueta constantly creating problems for the Caribbean side.

Brazil effectively killed off the contest in first-half stoppage time when Vinicius Junior crowned his impressive display with a goal.

The Real Madrid forward received a neat pass from Paqueta inside the area before finishing calmly from close range to send Brazil into the break with a commanding three-goal lead.

Although Brazil remained in control after the restart, Haiti showed more resilience in the second half and occasionally threatened through Dominique Simon, Wilson Isidor and Jean-Kevin Duverne.

Haiti appealed for a penalty midway through the second half after a challenge inside the area, but referee Alejandro Hernandez waved away the protests.

The underdogs continued to fight and forced Brazil goalkeeper Alisson into several saves, including a powerful long-range effort from Simon late in the game.

Brazil also remained dangerous going forward after the break.

Endrick had a goal ruled out for offside, while Vinicius Junior and substitute Ederson both came close to adding to the scoreline as Ancelotti rotated his squad.

However, Brazil suffered an injury concern when Raphinha was forced off before half-time and replaced by Rayan.

Despite the setback, the Selecao maintained their rhythm and comfortably saw out the match in front of 68,324 spectators.

The defeat ended Haiti’s World Cup campaign, having also lost their opening game earlier in the tournament.

The United States marched into the last 32 of the World Cup on Friday with a 2-0 victory over Australia as Brazil rediscovered their scoring touch to eliminate Haiti.

A day after Mexico sealed their place in the knockout rounds, the USA emulated their fellow World Cup co-hosts with a clinical Group D win over Australia in Seattle.

A Cameron Burgess own goal in the 11th minute and a headed effort from Alex Freeman two minutes before half-time sealed a comfortable win for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, who have advanced to the second phase of the tournament with a game to spare.

After an unconvincing build-up to the World Cup, the Americans have made a dream start to the tournament with Friday’s victory following a stylish 4-1 demolition of Paraguay in their opening game last week.

The co-hosts could even clinch first place in Group D later on Friday if Turkey lose or draw against Paraguay in the late match.

“It was a fantastic game again, very good first half,” Pochettino said. “I think we dominated the game against a very tough team.

“When the draw happened in December, I thought it was going to be a really difficult, a really tough game.”

Australia coach Tony Popovic blamed “lethargy” for his team’s loss.

“We were slow to every ball, and we couldn’t really wrestle back any momentum, which made it difficult,” Popovic said.

“We conceded a couple of really soft goals, but we just looked flat and lethargic in the first half.”

Morocco secured their first win of the tournament on Friday with a 1-0 defeat of Scotland at Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Ismael Saibari scored the game’s only goal, lashing home a thunderous angled strike in the second minute to leave the Scots reeling.

Morocco will face Haiti in their final Group C game on June 24, while Brazil take on the Scots in Miami.

“Tonight, we showed we can compete with the teams in the top 10. Brazil will be a different game; they play with less structure, but they have quality that can hurt you at any point,” Scotland’s John McGinn said.

“We will need to be at our best. We know what we need to do to try to get through to the next round.”

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