Scotland face a nervous wait to learn their World Cup fate after they were punished by Brazil.
Steve Clarke’s side knew a draw would guarantee qualification beyond the group stages at a major finals for the first time but their mistakes were ruthlessly punished by the five-time winners to leave their hopes of progressing to the last-32 as one of the eight best third-place teams hanging by a thread.
“I think we’re going home,” admitted Clarke afterwards.
It took Brazil just seven minutes to open the scoring in Miami Stadium. Scott McKenna gifted the ball to Vinicius Junior and he rounded Angus Gunn to slot home.
The Real Madrid striker capitalised on another mistake, this time by Jack Hendry, but a VAR check disallowed the goal for a foul on the Scotland defender.
Lewis Ferguson cleared an effort off the line before Vinicius Jr did make it 2-0 as he took advantage of another error, Angus Gunn and Nathan Patterson at fault.
Vinicius Junior’s second goal was disallowed for a foul on Jack Hendry
Scotland looked brighter after the break with Kieran Tierney denied by Alisson Becker, but Brazil were not done.
Bruno Guimaraes was too strong for Kenny McLean and he sent the ball through to Matheus Cunha to fire in.
Brazil progress as Group C winners while Scotland face a nervy wait to discover if they will finish as one of the top eight third-placed teams.
The key moments from Miami…
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7: GOAL! Vinicius Junior is gifted Brazil’s opener by Scott McKenna
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25: DISALLOWED! Vinicius Junior has the ball in the net but it’s ruled out for a foul on Jack Hendry
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45: OFF THE LINE! Lewis Ferguson to Scotland’s rescue as Vinicius Junior goes close again
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45+3: GOAL! Angus Gunn and Nathan Patterson both at fault as Vinicius Junior does make it 2-0
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49: SAVE! Alisson Becker denies Kieran Tierney
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52: SAVE! Gunn denies Vinicius Junior his hat-trick
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60: GOAL! Matheus Cunha fires in. Bruno Guimaraes is too strong for Kenny McLean as he sets up the Manchester United player
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81: SO CLOSE TO FOUR! The ball finds Vinicius Jr in the box but he diverts his shot wide of the target
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90+6: SAVE! Alisson denies Scott McTominay what could have been a crucial consolation
Analysis: An anxious wait after a punishing night
Make mistakes, and you will be punished. Especially at this level.
There was effort at times, but lapses in concentration combined with Brazil’s brilliance proved costly.
Scotland need to wait until Sunday to discover if they have qualified for the knockout stages for the first time.
Lawrence Shankland started as the lone striker and offered nothing.
Scott McTominay was completely off the pace, although did somehow come close to scoring late on.
Punished for almost every mistake. Mistakes that were easily avoided.
Scotland can have no complaints with the result. If they do somehow still qualify, they will need to be much better.
What the result means…
As winners of Group C, Brazil will face the runners-up of Group F in the last 32.
As it stands, Japan are second in Group F, but both Sweden and Netherlands could also yet finish as runners-up.
Meanwhile, Morocco will face the winners of Group F. As above, Netherlands are currently top of the group, but both Japan and Sweden can still go through as group winners ahead of the Dutch.
McGinn: Qualification is now ‘unlikely’
Scotland midfielder John McGinn speaking to BBC:
“We conceded goals at poor times against a team that can punish you with quality. But had a few chances ourselves.
“You can see the lads are gutted. We were short on quality but we gave it absolutely everything. The lads are empty. We have given ourselves a more difficult chance; it’s unlikely now but we will see.
“We probably were fortunate to have the [second] goal disallowed.
“They allowed us to have the ball and at this level, if you make mistakes, you get punished. We know we have to be better. It is raw for us at the moment but hopefully the journey is not over.”
Robertson: The wait will be ‘horrible’
Scotland captain Andy Robertson speaking to BBC:
“Frustration. Making mistakes. We started the game well and were keeping the ball well.
“They put us in a false sense of security; we thought we had more time on the ball. Our initial reaction is just one of frustration.
“In certain moments, we let ourselves down tonight. At times, we were comfortable on the ball and got ourselves into dangerous areas. But against these teams, we cannot afford to make the mistakes we were making.
“We were punished for pretty much every mistake. It’s not good enough when you get beaten 3-0. We only have ourselves to blame.
“Personally, time will tell. We need to take a day or two to see what has happened. As a collective, we didn’t want to put ourselves in a position to hope for favours. If you ask me now, I don’t think it is enough. Time will tell.
“The next couple of days will be horrible.”
