Morocco Narrowly Defeats Scotland, USA Advances to Knockout Stage, Brazil Secures Win Over Haiti

The United States secured their spot in the World Cup's last 32 on Friday, courtesy of a 2-0 win over Australia, while Brazil regained their scoring form to knock Haiti out of the tournament.

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This clinical victory for the USA in Group D came a day after Mexico booked their place in the knockout stages, with the Americans following suit in Seattle.

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Australia's Cameron Burgess scored an own goal in the 11th minute, and Alex Freeman added a headed effort two minutes before half-time, sealing a comfortable win for Mauricio Pochettino's team, who have advanced to the tournament's second phase with a game to spare.

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After a lackluster build-up to the World Cup, the Americans have made a dream start, with Friday's win following a 4-1 demolition of Paraguay in their opening game last week.

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The co-hosts could potentially clinch first place in Group D later on Friday if Turkey lose or draw against Paraguay in the late match.

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Mauricio Pochettino described the game as "fantastic" and stated that his team dominated against a tough opponent, adding that he had anticipated a difficult match when the draw took place in December.

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Australia coach Tony Popovic attributed his team's loss to "lethargy", saying they were slow to react and struggled to regain momentum, which made the game difficult.

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Popovic also noted that his team conceded soft goals and looked flat and lethargic in the first half.

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In other games on Friday, Brazil took control of their Group C destiny with a 3-0 win over Haiti, ending the Caribbean nation's chances of reaching the last 32.

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Manchester United striker Matheus Cunha scored two goals, and Vinicius Junior added another, securing a comfortable win for the Brazilians at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field.

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The result ensured Haiti will finish bottom of Group C and become the first team to be eliminated from contention for a place in the knockout rounds.

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Brazil's victory was marred by an apparent injury to star forward Raphinha, who left the game in the 40th minute after a tussle with Haiti defender Martin Experience.

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Brazil are now level on four points with Morocco in Group C, but lead the North Africans on goal difference.

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Morocco secured their first win of the tournament on Friday with a 1-0 defeat of Scotland at Foxborough, Massachusetts, courtesy of Ismael Saibari's thunderous angled strike in the second minute.

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Morocco will face Haiti in their final Group C game on June 24, while Brazil take on the Scots in Miami.

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Scotland's John McGinn said his team must be at their best to advance, acknowledging that Brazil pose a different challenge with their quality and ability to hurt opponents at any point.

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A leading Iranian football official, Hedayat Mombeyni, described Iran's treatment at the World Cup as a "dark point" in the competition's history, speaking after his organisation announced plans to lodge a complaint with FIFA.

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The Iranian football federation claims the team is being subjected to travel restrictions that are jeopardising their performance, having been denied permission to fly from their base camp in Tijuana, Mexico, to Los Angeles two days before their next match against Belgium on Sunday.