Scotland were lucky to lose only 3-0 as Vinicius Jr-inspired Brazil tore them apart… Steve Clarke’s gamble backfired and two individual errors could see them go home, writes RIATH AL-SAMARRAI

If Steve Clarke’s worst fear was a drubbing, then he ought to avoid seeking anything positive from the fact Scotland suffered a mere 3-0 defeat in Miami. That Brazil didn’t score more is something akin to a World Cup miracle.

They battered Scotland, dragging them from pillar to post in a tie that often looked an utter mismatch and concluded with Clarke sweating profusely over progression to the knockout stages.

But he will know how much worse it might have been, with two strikes from Vinicius Jr and a third by Matheus Cunha the very least that Brazil deserved on the night. Of the 21 chances that went to Carlo Ancelotti’s side, as many as five or six might have gone in on another occasion, which says as much for the talent in the Brazilian attack as it did the Scottish inability to cover their backsides.

In short, they were lucky it was not more, and they are lucky to have so many supporters enjoying the ride. Without such a jolly bunch, the inquisition about Clarke’s approach to this tournament would be far harsher, especially in light of how easy they made it for Brazil in the form of calamitous goals conceded.

To study the way in which Scott McKenna and Andy Robertson gave away the first two goals was to see a side fail in its one key aim for the evening – don’t do anything stupid. Don’t make it easy. Don’t implode.

They fell short in those key tests and more. Here, Daily Mail Sport goes over the details…

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STAR QUALITY

Before we assess the defeat, let’s look at the victors. Brazil’s attack was outstanding but for one detail – they ought to have scored far more. The best of the bunch was Vinicius Jr, who had a relatively tricky season at Real Madrid, but was fiendish here.

His sidestepping of Angus Gunn for the first goal was a classic piece of fast-footed, Brazilian wizardry. His second, a header, was less typical, but he also had an excellent strike disallowed in between based on the dubious ruling of the VAR that he had fouled Jack Hendry. A ridiculous call in my view.

A couple of missed chances denied him a hat-trick but he now has four goals in the tournament and is certain to get more.

BEST INTENTIONS AND BAD OUTCOMES

To some extent, Clarke had given the Scottish fans what they wanted – a more attacking side and a hint he was willing to try something a little different. That meant four changes to his starting XI, with the most ill-fated being the selection of Scott McKenna at centre-half.

The wisdom was easy to debate even before it went horribly wrong – he had not played a minute of the tournament, so throwing him in against Brazil was always a bold gamble. His misplayed ball to Andy Robertson gifted Vinicius Jr his first goal inside six minutes and he looked timid from that moment onwards.

A change that drew more support was the recall for Ben Gannon-Doak, whose demotion to the bench against Morocco caused so much antipathy towards Clarke. Against Haiti, he had been their spark. Their most willing to go on the run, so why did he fiddle with it?

Here, Gannon-Doak was always going to find it tougher. He gave it a go – no one attempted more dribbles than his three off the right wing in the first half – but Douglas Santos won the duel.

As for Lawrence Shankland, brought in for Che Adams as the lone striker, the output was dismal. His 28 touches was the lowest by far of any Scotland player who played more than 10 minutes, which said as much for their lack of creative service as it did the exceptional quality of Marquinhos and Gabriel Magalhaes. The Brazilian centre-backs suffocated him, but he also provided a largely stationary target.

Perhaps the biggest worry for Clarke, beyond the obvious, was how disorganised his reconfigured squad appeared to be. The first two goals, as well as one disallowed by the VAR in between for Vinicius Jr, spoke of a defence caught between notions of playing out from the back and common sense.

IN CLARKE’S DEFENCE…

This one isn’t an easy argument to mount for all of the reasons above. But this was also a match dominated by dreadful individual errors. Clarke didn’t have a pass cut out by Rayan for the first goal and he didn’t flap at the Bruno Guimaraes cross for the second. That was Angus Gunn, supplemented by some poor marking by Nathan Patterson, who ought to have viewed Vinicius Jr as a threat worth tracking.

The VAR reprieve for Jack Hendry should not detract attention from what was another glaring lapse. The decision to give a foul against Vinicius Jr was awfully soft, but had that goal stood at 1-0 we would have been talking the absurd decision of a centre-half to hold possession when a rampaging Brazilian was in pursuit.

The question is whether Clarke insisted they build from defence. If he did, he was as much to blame as them.

CHAOS AND CRUNCH

The beauty of Brazil and their rainbow of attacking colours is that they can cause chaos. They did that here, mostly through Vinicius Jr and Matheus Cunha, but also Bruno Guimaraes from deep. Guimaraes was the key component in Cunha’s goal, which included a blitz of one-touch passes through the middle before the Newcastle man shredded Hendry in the moment before playing in the Manchester United striker.

We have grown to mistrust the Brazilian midfield and will likely revert to that impression as the tournament progresses, but Guimaraes and Casemiro struck a good blend against Scotland.

One crunching first-half tackle by Casemiro on John McGinn was eye-catching, but his wider defensive performance killed multiple Scottish moves at source. Having struggled in the first two fixtures, this was an upturn. To reiterate, sharper challenges will follow for the 34-year-old.

An extra mention should be reserved for Bournemouth winger Rayan. He was excellent on the right of the Brazilian trident. His interception made the first goal and was also a subtle feather in the cap for Carlo Ancelotti – there were plenty of those gritty bits in this performance, where lunges and challenges made the difference.

THE NEYMAR FACTOR

Other than the rendition of Flower of Scotland, the loudest cheer came for Neymar’s introduction on 75 minutes. It was his first appearance for Brazil in 981 days and he did precious little in his time on the pitch, but everyone loves to watch a star and he belongs in that bracket, even if he will struggle to find a meaningful place in this attack. 

His most likely contribution in the knockouts will be as an impact substitute – England might encounter that threat later in the tournament.

GUNNING FOR THIN POSITIVES

There weren’t many for Scotland, but here are a couple. Having failed to register a single shot on goal against Morocco, they managed five here, all in the second half. Within that brief cluster, there were two for Scott McTominay, who continues to look a faded version of himself at the World Cup. 

The second positive was Gunn, who recovered from a complicit role in the goal for 2-0 by making good saves from Vinicius Jr and Rayan.

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