Neymar made the long awaited return to international football as Brazil comfortably beat Scotland 3-0 to clinch top spot in group C and get a spot in the last 32 at the World Cup in Brazil on Wednesday.
The Brazilian first made his mark in the 76th minute, appearing for the first time since October 2023 for the national team.
He returned after over two and a half years, and was greeted by a warm welcome from the fans inside the stadium.
Prior to Neymar’s entry, Vinícius Junior again grabbed the spotlight. The Real Madrid striker went on to extend his run of great form with a pair of goals in the opening of the first half.
He scored his first goal when Scotland defender Scott McKenna lost the ball right near his own net, giving Brazil a first goal.
After another error from the Scottish defence, Vinicius headed in another goal just before half-time.
Playing against the five time world champions, Scotland were a poor side who rarely looked as though they could do anything.
Brazil tried to score several times but a third goal was finally added in the 60th minute when Matheus Cunha finished a pass from Bruno Guimaraes in a clean shot.
The win paves the way for Brazil to advance with confidence to the knockout stage and end up first in their group.
Now they will head to Houston for the knockout round on June 29 against the best teams in Group F.
The loss puts Scotland’s World Cup aspirations on hold. They will now have to wait and see if their record is good enough to allow them to qualify as one of the top three finished teams in the tournament.
Now with four goals in his last three games, Vinicius is one of the top scorers at the tournament.
Also read: Brazil show signs of progress, but bigger World Cup challenges loom
