Brazil advanced to ⁠the knockout stages of the World Cup in style after Vinicius Junior netted twice in a 3-0 win  over Scotland in their final Group C match, while ⁠Neymar also made his first appearance in a Brazil shirt in three years.

The victory on Wednesday came at a full house in Miami Stadium, where 64,478 fans watched Carlo Ancelotti’s side top the group with seven points, ⁠while Morocco finished second with a 4-2 win over Haiti.

Vinicius has scored in every game so far, and the 25-year-old has four goals in the tournament to find himself in elite company, level with Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, and sitting just one goal behind Lionel Messi.

Scotland boss Stephen Clark said he expected Brazil to ‌attack from the outset, and the South Americans needed seven minutes to go 1-0 up when Scott McKenna failed to clear the ball, allowing Rayan to nick it and find Vinicius unmarked.

As goalkeeper Angus Gunn scrambled to stop him, the Real Madrid forward simply took one touch to move the ball past him and tap it into an empty net as the fans in yellow erupted.

Brazil nearly made it 2-0 just before the first hydration break, when Vinicius nicked the ball off Jack Hendry ⁠to score, but Scotland earned a reprieve after a VAR check, and the ⁠goal was overturned by the referee for a foul by the Brazilian.

That remained the theme in the first half, with Brazil being more combative to win the ball back, while Scotland failed to capitalise on set-pieces – the only time they had opportunities to ⁠score – as they finished the half with no shots on target.

Brazil’s second goal was a dagger to Scotland’s hearts on the stroke of half-time, when, once ⁠again, they won the ball high up the pitch and Bruno ⁠Guimaraes crossed the ball to the far post, where a grateful Vinicius headed home his second.

In the second half, Brazil pressed for a third goal, and it came with another scything move through the midfield as Guimaraes grabbed his second assist, dancing into the ‌box before setting up Matheus Cunha for his third goal of the tournament.

But the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for Neymar, as Ancelotti brought the 34-year-old on for his first appearance in a ‌Brazil ‌shirt since October 2023.

(Aljazeera)

Sri Lanka finally got their combinations right at the Women’s T20 World Cup and produced a commanding display to thrash Ireland by nine wickets with 27 balls to spare in Bristol on Tuesday. The emphatic victory has kept alive their slim hopes of reaching the semi-finals.

Chamari Atapattu had cut a dejected figure after the defeat to West Indies, where a dramatic batting collapse all but derailed Sri Lanka’s campaign. Even after producing a historic hundred against Ireland, the captain admitted that the missed opportunity against the Caribbean side still hurt.

“We know we wasted a golden opportunity. Had we got a decent total, it would have been a different story as we had the bowling to contain them,” Chamari told reporters.

It was her fourth T20I hundred and the first by a Sri Lankan in a Women’s World Cup. While delighted to reach another personal milestone, Chamari was still unable to hide her disappointment at not finishing the job against West Indies.

Against Ireland, however, was some statement. Sri Lanka raced to 50 inside five overs and remarkably Chamari had scored 46 of those runs. She remained unbeaten on 106 off just 61 deliveries, peppering the boundary with 17 fours and launching two towering sixes into the stands.

It was vintage Chamari, fearless and utterly ruthless. More often than not, when the skipper gets going, Sri Lanka end up on the winning side.

The team has now moved to Manchester, where they will play their final group game against Scotland on Friday. To sneak into the semi-finals, Sri Lanka need a convincing win and must hope West Indies lose their remaining two matches while New Zealand are beaten by England in their last group fixture.

Rex Clementine in Bristol

Half-time substitute Ante Budimir scored in the 54th minute as Croatia eliminated Panama from World Cup contention with a tightly fought 1-0 victory at Toronto Stadium.

The Group L clash on Tuesday saw 34-year-old Budimir score his first World Cup goal and fifth in a competitive fixture for his country.

Croatia remain third in the group with three points heading into the final match day, but they can guarantee a top-two finish with a victory over Ghana in their final match on Saturday in Philadelphia.

Panama are still seeking their first point, five matches into their World Cup history, having also lost 1-0 to Ghana in their 2026 opener in Toronto last week.

However, despite playing the first two matches without injured talisman Adalberto Carrasquilla, Los Canaleros have a goal difference six better than at this stage in their first World Cup appearance in 2018.

Budimir put Croatia in front on what was easily their best attack of the match to that point on Tuesday.

Josip Stanisic combined with Marco Pasalic to get down the right, and then struck a well-weighted cross to the top of the 6-yard box.

Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera dived to try and intercept the service but couldn’t reach it, and Budimir showed up at the back post to guide in a composed finish into an open goal.

With that, the match erupted for about 15 minutes.

Three minutes after the goal, Croatia captain Luka Modric played Pasalic in alone on goal from his own half. Mosquera sized up Pasalic and charged from his line at the right time to smother the initial attempt, and Pasalic fired wide from a poor angle on the rebound.

Panama responded to force Dominik Livakovic into three stops inside of a minute. The third was probably the best, as Livakovic leapt to deny Carlos Harvey’s header from a corner lofted to the back post.

The second-half hydration break followed that sequence, and perhaps disrupted Panama’s momentum, with Livakovic unthreatened in the final stages.

The Central Americans will now look to play spoilers against England in their finale on Saturday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Earlier on Tuesday, England and Ghana settled for a 0-0 draw, with both having four points.

[Aljazeera]