Brazil vs Haiti

The last time these two shared a pitch in competitive action, the scoreboard told a story of brutal asymmetry — Brazil 7, Haiti 1, at the 2016 Copa América Centenario in Orlando. Philippe Coutinho scored a hat-trick that night, and the gulf in class was suffocating. But a decade is a lifetime in international football, and while Brazil remain Brazil — awash with generational talent and the weight of five stars on their shirt — Haiti have evolved from the side that was dismantled in Florida.

The Caribbean nation's qualifying campaign revealed a team that has learned to suffer intelligently, compacting into a mid-block that resists being pulled apart and springing forward with genuine venom when turnover opportunities arise. That said, the fundamental reality of this fixture has not dramatically shifted. Brazil's front line of Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo, and whoever Dorival Júnior deploys as the central spear will test Haiti's defensive discipline to its absolute limit.

The key for Haiti is survival in the opening thirty minutes. If they can prevent Brazil from establishing an early rhythm, the possibility of keeping the match competitive increases substantially. Brazil's occasional complacency against perceived weaker opposition offers Haiti a sliver of hope.

But Dorival Júnior will have drilled into his players that no opponent at a World Cup should be taken lightly. Expect Brazil to play with controlled intensity from the first whistle, seeking to extinguish any Haitian ambition before it can flicker into life.