Brazil cruise, Neymar answers the call

The match itself

Haiti, to their credit, showed up. They always do. But the gap in quality was the gap it was always going to be, and Brazil moved through the gears without ever needing to find fifth. Three goals, a clean sheet, and a performance that will have the group's other sides doing quiet recalculations about who finishes top.

The scorers and specific moments remain unconfirmed from the available sourcing at time of writing, but the shape of the evening was clear enough: Brazil controlled, Haiti resisted for spells, and the result was settled well before the final whistle, according to The Guardian's live coverage. The 3-0 scoreline has been independently corroborated by BBC Sport's match report.

The Neymar angle — and why it matters

Rodrygo's reported ACL injury — confirmed by The Guardian and BBC Sport — opened a door that most people assumed had already closed. Neymar, whose own injury history has made him more of a fixture in the medical room than on the pitch over the past couple of years, reportedly earned his recall at least partly because that door swung open. The football gods have a sense of humour.

But here is the thing: Neymar being in this squad is not purely a story of circumstance. He is still, on his day, one of the most disruptive attacking players on the planet. A 3-0 win over Haiti does not prove that — not definitively — but it is a platform. The question the next few weeks will answer is whether he can hold the stage or whether this is one final curtain call before the lights go down for good.

He didn't look like a man saying goodbye.

What this means for Brazil's World Cup

Group C is now Brazil's to lose. Three points on the board, goal difference in positive territory, and a squad that — even accounting for Rodrygo's absence — carries more attacking threat than most nations can field across their entire roster.

The real tests come later. But comfortable group-stage wins have a way of building momentum, settling nerves, and reminding a squad — and a nation of 215 million people who treat this tournament as a matter of national identity — that the machine is running. Brazil have not won a World Cup since 2002. The weight of that wait is felt every four years. This time, with a home continent behind them and Neymar apparently fit and motivated, the belief is back.