Before Ancelotti took charge, Vinicius had scored a paltry six goals in 39 appearances for Brazil. Since the Italian‘s arrival, however, the picture has changed sharply as he has netted seven times in 13 games, and has found the net in every game of Brazil's World Cup campaign so far.

"I went to the locker room, all alone, and I shed a few tears," Neymar told reporters after Brazil finished top of Group C.

From Lionel Messi rewriting history at 39 to Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland relentlessly closing in, while Vinícius Junior leads Brazil’s charge with flair and authority, the battle to finish as the tournament’s top scorer is fast becoming one of the World Cup’s defining subplots.

With 50 matches still left to be played in North America, and the vast majority of Matchday 3 finales still ahead, this 161-goal opening salvo means the 2026 tournament is mathematically projected to shatter past the 280-goal milestone, setting a baseline that may not be touched for decades.

Due to the structural tree of the expanded 48-team tournament, a dream World Cup final between the two South American heavyweights - Argentina and Brazil - is mathematically impossible.

“There is a player more dangerous than Cristiano Ronaldo… it’s Cristiano Ronaldo who didn’t score in the previous match.”

The African team, playing in the tournament for the fourth time, finished second in Group A behind co-hosts Mexico, who had a perfect record of three wins out of three.

For years, football authorities have promoted technology as the answer to the game's biggest controversies. Goal-line technology, semi-automated offside systems and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) were all introduced in a bid to make the sport fairer and more accurate.

Brought on for the last 12 minutes with his team 2-0 up against the Czech Republicand cruising into the knockout phase as Group A winners, Ochoa lapped up the acclaim of fans at the Azteca stadium, the venue where he made his senior debut with Club America in 2004.

The controversy erupted in the 22nd minute after Scotland defender Jack Hendry hesitated in possession deep inside his own half. Vinicius pounced, won the ball and raced through before calmly finishing past goalkeeper Angus Gunn.

Mateo Chavez gave Mexico the lead in the 55th minute and Julian Quinones took advantage of disarray in the Czech defence six minutes later to extend the lead.

South Africa had failed to advance from the group stage in their first three World Cup appearances in 1998, 2002 and 2010.

After an underwhelming 1-1 draw with Morocco in their opener, Brazil have clicked into gear with successive wins, and Ancelotti said his side were becoming the solid, collective unit he wants for the knockout rounds.

Ancelotti's decision to recall Neymar for the World Cup was controversial, but while Vinicius is around, the wily Italian knows the thirtysomething is simply another option up front rather than the main one he was for so long.

Despite the inevitable scrutiny that follows England wherever they go, this is far from a crisis. Credit must instead go to a Ghana side that arrived with a plan, committed fully to it, and executed it brilliantly.

From Vinicius’ clinical finishing to Cunha’s joyful celebration and Neymar’s emotional comeback, Brazil delivered a memorable evening of football and flair.

Brazil topped the standings on seven points, ahead of Morocco on goal difference and Haiti finished bottom without a point.

Brazil beat Scotland 3-0 to win World Cup Group C.

They defeated Qatar 3-1 earlier in their last Group B game in Seattle to finish third with four points behind Switzerland and Canada but had to wait for other results to be confirmed as one of the qualifiers.

Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti made one change to face Scotland in Wednesday's final World Cup Group C match from the team that beat Haiti 3-0, with forward Rayan replacing injured winger Raphinha. The Scots made four changes.