Carlo Ancelotti told Brazil ‌fans to keep their feet on the ground after Neymar made ​his long-awaited World Cup return and Vinicius Jr sparkled again ⁠as the five-times champions swept Scotland aside 3-0 on Wednesday to finish top of Group C.

After an underwhelming 1-1 draw with Morocco in their opener, Brazil have clicked into ‌gear with successive wins, and Ancelotti said his side were becoming the solid, collective unit he wants for the knockout rounds.

“We’re now ‌playing as a team, that was the aim,” Ancelotti told a ‌press ⁠conference. “We’re not perfect, we need to improve a few things – we ⁠could be quicker when we’re in possession.

“I’m happy because the team has improved since the opening match. Being solid is very important now that we’ve reached the knockout stages.”

Brazil will face ​the second-placed team from Group F, ‌with the Netherlands, Japan or Sweden possible opponents in the Round of 32.

Roar for Neymar

The biggest roar in Miami came for Neymar, who played his first minutes for Brazil after almost three years out of the side. Ancelotti ‌said the 34-year-old had earned his chance after returning to full fitness.

“He ​got the chance to play because he deserved it, he worked hard to recover,” Ancelotti said. “I think that in this ⁠World Cup, given his qualities, he can help the team. He played for just a few minutes, but he played well.

“Neymar doesn’t need any motivation to play, ‌no player needs motivation to wear the Brazil shirt. He’s 34-years-old and still has the same passion as a young boy.”

Praise for Vinicius

Vinicius also drew praise from the Italian after he scored twice and dazzled up and down the left wing.

“Vini is in great form at the moment and the team helps him a lot,” Ancelotti said. “He can play in various positions, both on the ‌inside and on the wing.

“It’s very rewarding to see Vinicius like this, I had no doubt ​he could reach this level. I wasn’t the one who discovered Vini, he’s a top-class player, one of the best in ⁠the world.”

Not getting carried away

Ancelotti said Brazil had achieved their first objective by topping the group but ⁠warned against getting carried away.

“I haven’t set a target for how far we can go,” he said. “The aim isn’t just to play ‌well, the aim is to win. A manager is judged by victory or defeat, not by whether the team plays well or badly.”

Asked what ​he would tell an increasingly excited Brazilian public, Ancelotti smiled and said: “Stay calm.”

Mexico continued their perfect ​start to the World Cup with a 3-0 romp against a hapless Czech Republic on Wednesday, finishing their group-stage campaign with ‌a flourish and killing off their tame opponents’ hopes of making the knockouts.

The co-hosts had already ​booked their spot in the last 32 as Group A winners but showed no mercy at ⁠the Azteca stadium to complete a third straight victory that left the sorry Czechs bottom of the standings and out of the tournament.

The game looked to be drifting towards a stalemate before Mexico exploded in the second half, with Mateo Chavez opening the ‌scoring before Julian Quinones grabbed his second of the tournament and substitute Alvaro Fidalgo dealt the final blow.

Mexico’s reward for a faultless opening stage will be a knockout clash with a third-placed side ‌from Group C, E, F, H or I with the match again in front of their fans at the ‌Azteca, ⁠where they are unbeaten in nine World Cup matches, on Tuesday.

New hope

Mexico’s superb start to the ⁠tournament has kindled the fires of hope in their fervent supporters that this team could be the one to finally put to bed the so-called curse that has seen them fail to reach the quarter-finals since 1986.

The omens suddenly look auspiciously favourable – unbeaten in 11 games having sauntered ​through the group stage at a World Cup ‌back on home soil, the hope is that this Mexico side could put years of turmoil and under-performance behind them.

The numbers are also starting to stack up.

This was their biggest World Cup win since a 4-0 victory over El Salvador in 1970, while at the other end their rock-solid defence ensured they became the first ‌team with three clean sheets in the group stage since Uruguay in 2018.

This apparent new dawn is ​perfectly symbolised by 17-year-old midfield prodigy Gilberto Mora, who is the youngest player to start in the tournament since 2002, and produced a superb display with his every touch loudly appreciated ⁠by the crowd.

“To be honest, I believed I could achieve it, but not this soon,” he said when asked if he imagined reaching this stage so quickly. “Now that I’m here, I’m just trying to enjoy it, take it day by ‌day and give my best whenever I’m on the pitch.”

Sparked into life

With their fate riding on the outcome, the Czechs were predictably more eager in the opening exchanges, with Denis Visinsky snatching at an early effort when space opened up in front of him.

It took 35 minutes for Mexico to conjure a shot and when they did it was a rather improbable overhead kick from centre back Israel Reyes that drifted harmlessly wide.

The game had all the hallmarks of a stalemate before Mexico sparked into life and found the breakthrough to bring the Azteca to its feet ‌after 55 minutes.

Luis Romo emerged with the ball in midfield and slipped a pass through to full back Chavez who skipped past one ​challenge and bore down on goal before calmly opening his body up to sidefoot his finish past goalkeeper Matej Kovar. The second goal six minutes later had Mora’s fingerprints all over it ⁠as the youngster dribbled deep into Czech territory before playing a delightful ball through to Jorge Sanchez.

He bundled his attempted finish ⁠over the keeper and after a brief scramble Quinones followed up to poke the ball home.

While the crowd needed little encouragement to turn up the decibels, probably the loudest cheer of the night was ‌reserved for a late substitute appearance from 40-year-old keeper Guillermo Ochoa earning his 154th cap at his sixth World Cup.

There was time for a final flourish, however, as Mexico’s third goal arrived deep in stoppage time when ​Fidalgo blasted the ball into the top corner from 18 metres to complete a resounding win and another impressive display by the co-hosts.