Vinicius Junior scored and assisted on one of Matheus Cunha’s two goals as five-time champion Brazil eliminated Haiti from the World Cup with a 3-0 victory.

Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation that qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1974, became the first team guaranteed not to reach the knockout round. Meanwhile, the Selecao got the decisive performance they needed on Friday.

Cunha, the Manchester United standout, got the start and showed with every surf-and-slide goal celebration why he should have been in the starting lineup in Brazil’s listless 1-1 draw against Morocco. Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti made the surprising decision in the opener to instead insert Cunha as a late substitute.

Cunha thrilled the Brazilian fans who made up the bulk of the 68,324 spectators at Philadelphia Stadium when he tapped in a rebound for his first career World Cup goal. He then sent a left-footed strike into the upper left corner for a 2-0 lead in the first half against the over matched Haitians.

Brazil forward Raphinha, who was subbed out with an injury in the first half, had an early goal disallowed on an offside call that only temporarily muted the yellow-clad Selecao fans in an otherwise festive atmosphere at the home of the two-time Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles — whose cheerleaders did their part to rally the crowd.

Haitian fans danced and sang “Grenadye Alaso” (“Grenadiers to the Attack”), the traditional battle cry of the national team. Brazilians chanted back, reminding them their country is the five-time World Cup champion and the home of the king of football: “A thousand goals, a thousand goals, a thousand goals, a thousand goals, a thousand goals! Only Pele, only Pele!”

Cunha added to the frivolity in Philadelphia, home to nearly 6,000 Brazilian immigrants, when he flashed his familiar surfing celebration.

Vinicius, whose 32nd-minute goal helped Brazil earn the tie against Morocco, helped Brazil get on the board when his shot was stopped by goalkeeper Johny Placide, and Cunha was there to slam home the rebound to make it 1-0. Cunha extended both arms as if trying to catch some tasty waves and was mobbed by his teammates.

Vinicius slid a pass through the defence to find Cunha, and he powered one high into the net that Placide never had a chance to stop to make it 2-0. Cunha slid on his stomach and mimicked a swimming motion that all but put Haiti in the drink — and validated the Brazilians’ fans’ decision not to tempt fate and dress the Rocky statue in team gear for bad luck.

Vinicius closed the half with a goal, and that was enough to keep Brazil — seeking its first World Cup title since 2002 — happy before it closes Group C play against Scotland on Wednesday in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Neymar was ruled out of Brazil’s second straight match because of a lingering calf injury.

[Aljazeera]

‎World leader Rumesh Tharanga registered his third consecutive Diamond League victory as he beat two-time world champion Anderson Peters for the top place in Doha on Saturday.

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The 23 year old delivered a throw of 88.68m to beat Peters (86.38m) by more than two metres.

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While USA’s Curtis Thompson finished third with a throw of 85.99m former World and Olympic champion Niraj Chopra was placed fourth with a throw of 85.69m.

‎With yesterday’s victory in Doha Tharanga now has the top five winning marks of the season. (RF)

The ‌‌United States showed they could win without Christian Pulisic, ⁠⁠beating Australia 2-0 ⁠⁠to reach the World Cup round of 32, but coach Mauricio Pochettino is hoping his talisman will return for their next ⁠⁠match.

Pulisic missed Friday’s Group D clash in Seattle with a calf injury sustained in the USA’s opening win over Paraguay, leaving the cohosts without ⁠⁠their most influential attacking player.

The Americans still found a way through, taking the lead in the 11th minute through a Cameron Burgess own goal before Alex Freeman headed in shortly before half-time after a VAR review overturned an ‌‌initial offside decision.

“It’s always difficult because we want to have all the players,” Pochettino said. “Christian is an important player for us, but … it was impossible today for him to play. We hope that next game he will be available.”

The USA moved to six points and secured their place in the knockout rounds with one group-stage match still to play.

Pochettino ⁠⁠said Pulisic remained central to his plans but ⁠⁠added that any successful World Cup run would require contributions from the entire squad.

“If we want to win the competition, we need the whole team,” he said. “All the players need to ⁠⁠be important.

“Of course, Christian is one of the best players in the world. I hope that he can ⁠⁠recover as soon as possible and can ⁠⁠enjoy being on the pitch and helping the team.”

Weston McKennie praised the US team’s depth and said the squad showed on Friday that they could do it all.

“We can play the ‌‌physical game because we have guys on the field who are ready to step up for that, and we have guys with quality who can ‌‌play possession-based football,” he said.

USA close out Group D against Turkiye on Thursday at Los Angeles Stadium.

[Aljazeera]