Brazil and Haiti met on the World Cup stage for the first time on June 19, 2026, in Philadelphia. The matchup carried an unusual history: these two national teams had previously shared one of football’s most memorable humanitarian friendlies, the 2004 “Match for Peace.”
In their latest brazil vs haiti meeting, Brazil won 3-0 in Group C of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Matheus Cunha scored twice, while Vinicius Junior added the third before half-time. The victory was Brazil’s first of the tournament after an opening draw with Morocco.
This guide covers what happened in Philadelphia, the key performers, previous Brazil-Haiti matches, the famous 2004 encounter, and how this fixture has developed across more than five decades.
brazil vs haiti 2026 World Cup Result
Brazil defeated Haiti 3-0 at Philadelphia Stadium on June 19, 2026. FIFA’s official tournament schedule records the game as a Group C fixture, with Brazil collecting its first win of the competition.
| Match detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Competition | FIFA World Cup 2026 |
| Stage | Group C |
| Date | June 19, 2026 |
| Venue | Philadelphia Stadium |
| Result | Brazil 3-0 Haiti |
| Half-time | Brazil 3-0 Haiti |
| Brazil scorers | Matheus Cunha (2), Vinicius Junior |
| Brazil coach | Carlo Ancelotti |
| Haiti coach | Sebastien Migne |
The decisive work was done in the first half. Matheus Cunha scored in the 23rd and 36th minutes before Vinicius Junior made it 3-0 during first-half stoppage time.
Haiti prevented the score from growing after the interval and produced a more competitive second-half performance. FIFA’s matchday recap specifically highlighted the Caribbean side’s improvement after the break.
Who scored in Brazil vs Haiti?
Matheus Cunha was the leading scorer with two goals.
The forward opened the scoring after 23 minutes and struck again in the 36th. Vinicius Junior then scored Brazil’s third at 45+3 minutes.
The scoring timeline was:
- 23′ — Matheus Cunha, Brazil
- 36′ — Matheus Cunha, Brazil
- 45+3′ — Vinicius Junior, Brazil
Vinicius was particularly influential in Brazil’s attack, finishing the game with a goal and an assist.
Why was the result important for Brazil?
Brazil had begun its 2026 World Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw against Morocco in New York/New Jersey.
That made the Haiti match an important opportunity to collect three points and improve Brazil’s position in Group C. The 3-0 victory accomplished that before Brazil moved on to its final group fixture against Scotland.
Quick Takeaway: Brazil controlled the decisive stages of the game, scored all three goals before half-time, and earned its first victory of the 2026 World Cup.
How Brazil Beat Haiti 3-0
The final score suggests a straightforward Brazil victory, but the game can be divided into two noticeably different halves.
Brazil’s attacking quality dominated the opening 45 minutes. Haiti responded more effectively after the interval, although the deficit was already too large to overturn.
Brazil applied pressure from the start
Carlo Ancelotti changed his attacking setup by starting Matheus Cunha after he had appeared as a substitute against Morocco.
The decision paid off.
Brazil pushed Haiti backward and created opportunities through movement between the lines and combinations among its attacking players.
Raphinha thought he had scored in the 12th minute, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
The breakthrough arrived 11 minutes later.
Vinicius Junior moved in from the left and produced the action that eventually allowed Cunha to finish the opening goal.
Brazil now had the breakthrough it needed.
Cunha’s second gave Brazil control
The second goal came in the 36th minute.
Brazil attacked quickly, with Vinicius providing a through ball for Cunha. The forward finished powerfully to make the score 2-0.
Cunha’s performance was particularly significant because these were his first goals at a FIFA World Cup. FIFA later highlighted his two-goal display as one of the standout attacking performances of that stage of the tournament.
Vinicius Junior added the third
Brazil did not have to wait long for another goal.
Vinicius Junior scored in the third minute of first-half stoppage time, sending Brazil into the interval with a 3-0 advantage.
His involvement in the scoring reflected his broader influence on the game. Brazil repeatedly used its technical advantage and movement in forward areas to disrupt Haiti’s defensive structure.
Haiti improved after half-time
A 3-0 half-time score could easily have turned into a much larger defeat.
Instead, Haiti responded.
The Grenadiers were considerably more competitive after the break. FIFA described their second-half performance positively, noting that they caused Brazil problems despite failing to score.
Brazil also failed to add to its total.
That meant all three goals in the 3-0 result came during the opening half.
Matheus Cunha and Vinicius Junior Were the Key Performers
Two players were directly responsible for the scoring that decided the match: Matheus Cunha and Vinicius Junior.
Matheus Cunha scored his first World Cup goals
Cunha entered Brazil’s starting lineup in place of Igor Thiago and immediately justified Carlo Ancelotti’s selection.
His brace represented his first goals at a FIFA World Cup. FIFA reported that the forward’s movement and finishing were important to turning Brazil’s attacking superiority into goals.
His first finish rewarded Brazil’s early pressure.
The second demonstrated a different quality: movement during a transition, followed by a confident finish.
Together, those goals effectively put Brazil in control before half-time.
Vinicius Junior combined creation with scoring
Vinicius Junior’s contribution extended beyond his own goal.
Playing from the left side of Brazil’s attack, he was involved in the moves leading to Cunha’s goals and officially recorded a goal and an assist according to FIFA’s matchday recap.
That combination of chance creation and direct scoring made him central to Brazil’s best attacking sequences.
Raphinha’s injury was the downside
The victory also brought an injury concern for Brazil.
Raphinha left the match in the 40th minute because of discomfort in his right thigh. Subsequent imaging confirmed a muscle injury in the back of the thigh, although he remained with the Brazilian squad for treatment.
Rayan replaced him against Haiti.
brazil vs haiti Head-to-Head Record
The senior men’s national teams have rarely met.
Different historical databases can vary in their coverage of older international matches, but records including the 1974 friendly show four Brazil victories across the teams’ four recognized meetings through the 2026 World Cup.
| Date | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| April 21, 1974 | International Friendly | Brazil 4-0 Haiti |
| August 18, 2004 | International Friendly / Match for Peace | Haiti 0-6 Brazil |
| June 8, 2016 | Copa América Centenario | Brazil 7-1 Haiti |
| June 19, 2026 | FIFA World Cup | Brazil 3-0 Haiti |
Across those four matches:
- Brazil wins: 4
- Draws: 0
- Haiti wins: 0
- Brazil goals: 20
- Haiti goals: 1
The combined score is therefore 20-1 in Brazil’s favor.
The countries have met in three very different settings: international friendlies, Copa América and the FIFA World Cup.
That makes their small head-to-head history more varied than the number of matches might suggest.
Brazil 4-0 Haiti in 1974
The earliest meeting came on April 21, 1974.
Brazil won the international friendly 4-0.
The Brazilian Football Confederation lists Paulo Cézar Caju, Rivellino, Marinho Chagas and Edu as the scorers.
The historical context makes the date particularly interesting.
Haiti qualified for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, the country’s first appearance at the men’s tournament. Brazil, meanwhile, entered that World Cup as defending champions after winning the 1970 edition.
More than 30 years would pass before the countries played one another again.
When they finally did, the significance of the occasion extended far beyond the result.
The 2004 Brazil vs Haiti “Match for Peace”
The most famous meeting between Brazil and Haiti before the 2026 World Cup occurred on August 18, 2004, at Stade Sylvio Cator in Port-au-Prince.
Brazil won 6-0.
Yet the score is not why the match remains remembered.
Known as the Match for Peace, the friendly took place during a period of severe political and security instability in Haiti.
Brazil was involved in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country, and football became part of a broader attempt to promote peace and solidarity. FIFA describes the game as one of the most significant occasions in Haitian football history.
Brazil’s stars arrived in Port-au-Prince
This was not a Brazilian team stripped of its biggest names.
The squad included prominent players such as:
- Ronaldinho
- Ronaldo
- Roberto Carlos
- Gilberto Silva
- Roque Júnior
- Belletti
- Juninho Pernambucano
- Edu
- Juan
Carlos Alberto Parreira was Brazil’s coach.
Brazil had won the FIFA World Cup just two years earlier, making the appearance of so many celebrated players a major event for local supporters.
The Brazilian delegation traveled toward Stade Sylvio Cator in United Nations armored vehicles as crowds gathered along the route.
Who scored in the 2004 Match for Peace?
Brazil scored six times:
| Player | Goals |
|---|---|
| Ronaldinho | 3 |
| Roger Flores | 2 |
| Nilmar | 1 |
Ronaldinho’s hat-trick was the individual highlight of the game.
Contemporary match records list Roger’s goals in the 20th and 42nd minutes, Ronaldinho scoring three times, and Nilmar completing the 6-0 result late in the match.
Ronaldo played but did not score.
Why was the Match for Peace significant?
Haiti was experiencing deep political instability in 2004.
The game therefore served a symbolic purpose that went beyond a conventional international friendly. The slogan associated with the occasion translated as “Social justice is the true name of peace.”
Thousands of supporters filled Stade Sylvio Cator, while many more followed Brazil’s arrival through Port-au-Prince.
FIFA later recalled that the result itself became secondary to the reaction of the Haitian public and the opportunity to see some of the world’s most famous footballers in person.
That history gave the countries’ 2026 World Cup reunion a deeper meaning than an ordinary group-stage matchup.
Brazil 7-1 Haiti at Copa América Centenario 2016
Twelve years after the Match for Peace, Brazil and Haiti met in a competitive tournament for the first time.
Their 2016 Copa América Centenario Group B match took place in Orlando.
Brazil won 7-1.
Philippe Coutinho produced the standout individual performance with a hat-trick.
Brazil’s scorers were:
| Player | Goals |
|---|---|
| Philippe Coutinho | 3 |
| Renato Augusto | 2 |
| Gabriel Barbosa | 1 |
| Lucas Lima | 1 |
The Brazilian Football Confederation includes the 7-1 victory in its official summary of meetings between the teams.
For Haiti, however, the match contained one piece of head-to-head history: it produced the country’s first goal against Brazil.
Through the four meetings up to and including 2026, that remains Haiti’s only goal in the fixture.
How the 2026 Meeting Differed From 2004 and 2016
Looking only at the scores misses how differently these matches functioned.
The 2004 game was fundamentally humanitarian and symbolic. The Match for Peace took place amid instability in Haiti and used Brazil’s extraordinary popularity as a way to bring attention and a temporary sense of unity to the country.
The 2016 encounter was tournament football. Points and progression at the Copa América Centenario were at stake.
The 2026 match went another step further: it was the countries’ first meeting at the FIFA World Cup itself.
| Meeting | Context | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | International friendly | Brazil 4-0 Haiti |
| 2004 | Match for Peace | Haiti 0-6 Brazil |
| 2016 | Copa América Centenario | Brazil 7-1 Haiti |
| 2026 | FIFA World Cup | Brazil 3-0 Haiti |
The scoring margins also changed.
Brazil scored six against Haiti in 2004 and seven in 2016. In 2026, Haiti restricted Brazil to three and kept a clean sheet throughout the second half.
That did not change the outcome, but it was a more resilient defensive response after the break.
Brazil and Haiti’s Different Football Traditions
The matchup also brings together national teams from two different regional confederations.
Brazil represents CONMEBOL, the governing body for South American football.
Haiti represents CONCACAF, covering North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
Brazil’s international résumé is among the most extensive in men’s football. The Seleção is a five-time World Cup champion and remains the only national team to have participated in every edition of the men’s FIFA World Cup.
Haiti’s World Cup history is much smaller but significant.
The Grenadiers’ appearance in 2026 represented a return to the global tournament after their historic participation in 1974.
This difference in tournament history helps explain why a Brazil-Haiti game attracts attention even when the teams have met only occasionally.
What Is Brazil’s Overall Record Against Haiti?
Using the four meetings recognized in the historical records cited above, Brazil has a perfect record against Haiti.
Brazil has won four out of four, with no draws and no Haitian victories.
Brazil has also scored at least three goals in every meeting:
- 4 goals in 1974
- 6 goals in 2004
- 7 goals in 2016
- 3 goals in 2026
The Seleção’s total of 20 goals works out to an average of five goals per match across those four games.
Haiti’s lone goal came during the 7-1 Copa América defeat in 2016.
Two Brazilian players have scored hat-tricks in this fixture: Ronaldinho in 2004 and Philippe Coutinho in 2016. Historical records list each with three goals in his respective match.
Matheus Cunha came closest to joining them in 2026, scoring twice in Philadelphia.
Why brazil vs haiti Has a Unique Place in International Football
There are international rivalries built from dozens of matches, regional competition and generations of sporting tension.
Brazil and Haiti do not fit that description.
They have played only a handful of times.
Instead, the fixture stands out because of the unusual connection created in 2004.
The image of Brazil’s world-famous footballers arriving in Port-au-Prince during a difficult period in Haiti’s history gave the Match for Peace meaning that survived long after the final whistle.
Twenty-two years later, FIFA revisited that connection as the nations prepared to face each other at the 2026 World Cup.
On the field, the balance remains clearly reflected in the historical results. Brazil won 4-0 in 1974, 6-0 in 2004, 7-1 in 2016 and 3-0 in 2026.
The latest brazil vs haiti chapter therefore continued Brazil’s perfect head-to-head record, with Matheus Cunha’s brace and Vinicius Junior’s goal deciding the 2026 World Cup meeting. Yet the fixture’s history remains about more than those numbers: the Match for Peace ensures that Brazil and Haiti share one of international football’s more distinctive connections.
