By 
Scotland’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time are in significant peril after calamitous defending allowed Brazil to sweep them aside 3-0 in Miami and finish top of Group C.
Steve Clarke’s side knew they could all-but confirm a historic passage out of the group stages with a point against the record tournament winners.
Before the game, the statisticians said a record of three points and a minus three goal difference would give a team a 42 percent chance of claiming one of the eight best third-place team spots in the last 32.
But the Scots face an agonising wait until potentially as late as Sunday morning to know their fate as the rest of the groups play their final games.
Should they miss out, they will rue being masters of their own downfall yet again.
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Scott McKenna – in for his first start of the finals – hesitated on the ball and was robbed by Bournemouth teenager Rayan.
He teed-up Vinicius Jr, and one of the game’s most potent strikers gratefully accepted the gift.
The Real Madrid forward who has scored in every group game thought he had his second when he pick-pocketed Jack Hendry and rolled beyond Angus Gunn.
VAR bailed the Scots out – the officials deciding the defender had been tripped – when they couldn’t help themselves.
Carlo Ancelotti was not a happy man, but his talisman soon had his second, nodding in at the back post after the feeble Scots failed to clear in first-half stoppage time.
Vinicius Jr could have had a hat-trick and Brazil could have had five.
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