Scotland Brazil ended 0-3 in Miami on Wednesday, with Vinícius Júnior scoring twice. Manager Steve Clarke said it feels like Scotland are "going home". Their last-32 hopes now hinge on other results.
Scotland Brazil ended 0-3 in Miami on Wednesday, with Vinícius Júnior scoring twice. Manager Steve Clarke said it feels like Scotland are "going home". Their last-32 hopes now hinge on other results.
Scotland came into this finale needing a result after a 1-0 loss to Morocco in Boston, where Steve Clarke complained about waved-away penalty appeals and a Kieran Tierney scare. The picture is bleaker now. A 3-0 defeat to Brazil in Miami has left Scotland's place in the round of 32 out of their own hands.
Clarke did not dress it up. "At this moment in time, it feels like we're going home. I think minus three [goal difference] is too much," he said after full-time. He added: "It's very difficult for me to compute in my head what to do going forward."
Scotland gifted Brazil the lead inside seven minutes. Scott McKenna, recalled in place of Grant Hanley, dwelt on the ball in his own box and Rayan pounced, teeing up Vinícius Júnior to round Angus Gunn and finish. Vinícius had a second ruled out by VAR for a foul on Jack Hendry, then headed home Bruno Guimarães' cross in first-half stoppage time. Matheus Cunha made it three on the hour after Guimarães burst into the area.
Captain Andy Robertson did not reappear for the second half, with Tierney replacing him. The 32-year-old, who is joining Spurs this summer, was later seen on the bench with ice strapped around his right ankle.
"Personally, time will tell," Robertson told BBC One. "I need to take a day or two to see what has happened and I'll do that. But as a collective, we didn't want to be in this position and if you ask me right now, I don't think it's enough."
John McGinn accepted the goals were self-inflicted. "Brazil punished us, I don't think overall they opened us up too many times it was self-inflicted mistakes," he said. He added: "If we get the luck, maybe we do deserve it but if we go out, we deserve to go out."
Scotland finish third in Group C with three points and a goal difference of minus three. They have scored fewer goals than Haiti. To progress, they must end among the eight best third-placed teams, with every other group still to complete its matches.
Vinícius Júnior's double took him to four goals in three games. He is the first Brazilian to score in every group match at a World Cup since Ronaldo and Rivaldo in 2002, and sits level with Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, one behind Lionel Messi, in the golden boot race.
Brazil sealed first place in Group C and a last-32 tie in Houston on 29 June, against the runners-up of Group F. Carlo Ancelotti introduced Neymar in the 76th minute for his first international appearance in over two-and-a-half years. Morocco took second after beating Haiti 4-2 in Atlanta.
Scotland now face several days waiting on other results before they know whether their first World Cup since 1998 ends in another group-stage exit.
