Defeat for Scotland as Haiti and Turkey Crash Out

Haiti and Turkey became the first two nations to be eliminated from the 2026 World Cup after both suffered their second group stage defeats overnight.

The writing was on the wall for the Haitans by half-time in their clash with Brazil in Philadelphia, with a Matheus Cunha brace and Vinicius Jr’s strike on the stroke of the break putting Carlo Ancelotti’s men firmly in control.

The underdogs probed in the second half for a way back into the game, with Ricardo Ade coming closest to scoring, but Brazil ‘keeper Alisson was equal to his header and the five-time World Cup champions never looked in any danger of letting their advantage slip.

A first win of the tournament for Brazil puts them top of Group C on goal difference, after Morocco beat Scotland 1-0 in Boston.

Ismael Saibari - scorer of his side’s opener against Brazil last time out - was the matchwinner early on here, slamming home an emphatic finish from a tight angle in the second minute.

But despite dominating for large periods, the Atlas Lions were unable to make it count in the form of goals, while Scotland lacked quality in the final third and couldn’t create a meaningful opportunity in front of goal.

Despite defeat, the Scots’ fate is still in their hands, but they will likely need a result against Brazil on Wednesday night to be certain of qualification for the knockouts.

One side who won’t be featuring in the next round, though, is Turkey, who were dumped out of the tournament by Paraguay in the final overnight kick-off.

And it was another early goal that won it, with Matias Garlaza drilling home from distance after just 64 seconds in San Francisco.

It was a familiar story for Turkey, who dominated their opponents for the remaining 88 minutes and even played the entire second half against ten men, after Miguel Almiron became the first player to be sent off for covering his mouth with his shirt.

But Paraguay’s notoriously tight defence held firm and they have the chance to secure qualification for the knockouts when they face Australia next Wednesday.