PHILADELPHIA, June 20 — Brazil eased to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Haiti in Philadelphia in their 2026 World Cup Group C match today, extending their strong start to the tournament while keeping nerves – and superstition – firmly in check.

The result this morning added fresh fuel to a growing fan theory that Brazil’s cautious approach to the so-called “Rocky curse” may have helped preserve their winning momentum.

The “Rocky curse” is a long-running superstition among visiting supporters in Philadelphia, centred on the bronze statue of fictional boxer Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone) outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Traditionally, fans of visiting teams gather on the famous steps to celebrate and often dress the statue in their team colours, turning it into a pre-match ritual.

But over time, some supporters have come to believe that interfering with the statue brings bad luck, after a string of visiting teams reportedly failed to win following such displays.

The idea gained renewed attention last week when Ecuador fans decorated the statue in national colours before their 1-0 defeat to Ivory Coast on June 14, a result sealed by a late Amad Diallo goal in the 90th minute.

Amad Diallo scored in the 90th minute to lift Ivory Coast to a 1-0 victory over Ecuador in its first World Cup appearance in a dozen years.

That outcome quickly became part of online folklore, with fans jokingly attributing Ecuador’s loss to the “curse”, even as others dismissed it as coincidence.

Brazil supporters, aware of the growing superstition, opted not to dress the statue or stage the usual mass celebrations on the Rocky Steps ahead of kickoff.

Even Philadelphia tourism voices joined the tongue-in-cheek narrative, reminding visiting fans that “Rocky does not need your kit”, as thousands still gathered across the city.

Kickoff took place at 8pm local time in the United States (8am Malaysia time today), with Brazil delivering a controlled, dominant performance from start to finish.

The 3-0 win over Haiti strengthened their position in Group C and maintained their perfect discipline on and off the pitch.

While there is no evidence linking superstition to performance, supporters embraced the narrative that avoiding the “curse” had kept Brazil’s campaign on track.

For now, Rocky remains untouched, Brazil remain unbeaten, and the myth – at least among fans – continues to linger.

 

LOS ANGELES, June 20 — High-scoring Germany face a powerful Ivory Coast side at the World Cup today with the winner guaranteed a place in the last 32, while Sweden can also book their ticket.

Those three nations can join co-hosts the United States and Mexico who are already through.

Germany thrashed debutants Curacao 7-1 in their opener and would be confirmed as Group E winners if they defeat Ivory Coast in Toronto and Ecuador fail to beat Curacao in Kansas City.

Progressing to the knockout round would be a relief for the Germans who astonishingly have failed to reach that stage since they won their fourth World Cup in Brazil in 2014.

So tight are the margins that Ivory Coast could lock up their place in the next round too, if they beat the Germans.

Julian Nagelsmann said his team had to be prepared for Ivory Coast’s athleticism.

“Their speed is one of their biggest strengths and that’s what I think they do best,” he told reporters, highlighting the French-born Ivorian winger Nicolas Pepe.

“During the last game, he was everywhere,” Nagelsmann said of Pepe.

Ivory Coast could also count on forward Elye Wahi who has been authorized to enter Canada after initially being denied a visa over reported spot-fixing allegations in France.

Sweden face the Netherlands in Houston knowing that a win will secure a place in the knockout round—an extraordinary turnaround for the Scandinavians who only qualified for the World Cup through the Nations League, essentially the back door.

Coach Graham Potter warned that Sweden striker Alexander Isak will get “stronger and stronger” as the tournament goes on.

Isak had a poor season by his standards, interrupted by frequent injuries, after Liverpool paid Newcastle United a British record £125 million ($165 million) for him.

He made a strong start to the World Cup, though, as the 26-year-old scored one goal and set up two in the 5-1 thrashing of Tunisia.

“Alex has had a season that has been interrupted,” Potter said. “Most football players would say they need a certain amount of time and games to get up to top, top level, so we’ve had to try to build Alex up. I think there’s more to come from him.”

1,000th game 

History will be made in another of Saturday’s games as Japan face Tunisia in Monterrey, Mexico for the 1,000th game at a World Cup.

Hajime Moriyasu warned his Japan side they will need to match the intensity of a Tunisia team fired up by the introduction of coach Herve Renard after Sabri Lamouchi became the first coach in World Cup history to be sacked after one game.

On Friday, the United States marched into the knockout round with a 2-0 victory over Australia in Seattle.

A day of raucous celebrations for the co-hosts got even better when Paraguay’s 1-0 win against Turkey confirmed that the US would clinch top spot in Group D, ensuring a theoretically easier draw in the last 32.

A Cameron Burgess own goal in the 11th minute and a headed effort from Alex Freeman two minutes before half-time sealed a comfortable three points for Mauricio Pochettino’s USA side, who have won the group with a game to spare.

After an unconvincing build-up to the World Cup, the Americans have made a dream start to the tournament with Friday’s victory following a stylish 4-1 demolition of Paraguay in their opener.

“It was a fantastic game again, very good first half,” Pochettino said. “I think we dominated the game against a very tough team.

“When the draw happened in December I thought it was going to be a really difficult, a really tough game.”

In other games on Friday, Brazil took control of their destiny in Group C with a 3-0 victory over Haiti that ended the Caribbean nation’s chances of progressing. Haiti join Turkey in exiting the tournament.

Two goals from Matheus Cunha and a Vinicius Junior strike sealed an easy win for the Brazilians in Philadelphia.

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

Morocco secured their first win of the tournament on Friday with a 1-0 defeat of Scotland at Foxborough.

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