Brazil takes over Philly, dominates Haiti in city’s second World Cup match

This story originally appeared on WHYY’s Billy Penn.

Philadelphia’s second game of the FIFA World Cup played out on Friday with the tournament’s most successful nation ever facing a team that had not been on this stage since 1974.

In a one-sided affair, Brazil defeated Haiti 3-0, making the Haitians the first teams to be mathematically eliminated from the field of 48.

Eight days into the tournament and Philly is filled with soccer fans from all over the world, wearing their team’s colors. Watch parties are being held all over the region.

The Brazil fans made their presence known in the city with a rally at the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Thursday night.

Ingrid Wynne, who lives in Broomall, Delco, but is originally from São Paulo, came to the gathering with her husband Michael.

“I barely have any Brazilian friends in my area, so this is insane to see,” she said.

The Wynnes went to São Paulo for the Eagles’ game against the Green Bay Packers

The crowd sang, lit smoke bombs and juggled balls around. One thing they were instructed not to do was mess with Rocky, after Ecuador fans found out about the curse that comes with putting a shirt on the statue of Philly’s most famous fictional son.

A security detail, part of a PR stunt by a Brazilian betting agency, stood guard around the base of the statue. They did let one guy who was wearing a shirt with the same gambling brand climb up on Rocky and try to put a Haiti team jersey on, but he was unsuccessful.

A Brazil fan did manage to slip an opposition jersey on Rocky later in the night, that of Argentina’s star Lionel Messi. So if the World Cup’s joint all-time top scorer fails to do more after his hat-trick in the opening game, we all know why.