World Cup round-up: Man Utd ace wows as Scots lose, Ronaldo sisters moan and two groups out

WORLD CUP DAY 9 ROUND-UP: Red card controversy, referee rants, Ronaldo’s sisters kick up a storm, a Manchester United star wows and two countries are already out

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There was yet more drama and red card controversy at the World Cup on Friday night and in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Scotland lost 1-0 to Morocco and had some complaints afterwards, while they must next face Brazil whose players – including one Manchester United star – have clearly found their shooting boots.

The Scots aren’t the only ones upset with officials, yet the moans at referees out in the US, Canada and Mexico is nothing compared to the grumbles from Cristiano Ronaldo’s sisters. Here’s full details of some chaotic contests and everything else you need to know from day nine of the World Cup in our morning round-up.

Scotland suffer defeat

Scotland were convinced they were denied a penalty in their 1-0 defeat to Morocco, but truth be told, did not do enough to get anything from the game.

John McGinn and Scott McTominay had spot-kick appeals waved away, while Steve Clarke was left “a little bit disappointed” that Issa Diop escaped a red card for felling Che Adams as the last defender.

The Africa Cup of Nations winners stunned the Scots when Ismael Saibari grabbing the game’s only goal in the second minute.

The defeat leaves Scotland with work to do to advance to the knockouts, with their final group match against one of the tournament favourites, Brazil, next Wednesday.

Premier League legend makes unwanted history

Miguel Almiron made history as the first player to be sent off for confronting someone while covering their mouth during Paraguay’s 1-0 victory over Turkey.

The ex-Newcastle United star covered his mouth while arguing with Mert Muldur, an act now deemed a red card offence following a recent rule change, so received a red card just before half-time.

The Paraguay winger, 32, fell foul of a new law introduced in late April as FIFA introduced it to curb any discriminatory or inappropriate behaviour.

Two countries dumped out of World Cup

That defeat against 10 men was enough to see Turkey knocked out of the World Cup, following their 2-0 defeat to Australia in their opening game in Group D.

Stunned by a goal from Matias Galarza after just 64 seconds, the Turks put in a complete non-performance throughout the first 45 minutes, then wasted chance after chance in the second half.

Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation that qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1974, had earlier become the first team to be dumped out of the competition thanks to their 3-0 defeat to Brazil. They lost 1-0 to Scotland last week.

Manchester United ace at the double

Manchester United striker Matheus Cunha netted twice as Brazil breezed past Haiti with a 3-0 win.

Carlo Ancelotti’s squad answered some of the criticisms of their performance in their opening match draw with Morocco to go top of Group C.

Cunha, who stepped in for Brentford forward Igor Thiago in the starting XI scored a lucky opener in the 23rd minute when Haiti defender Hannes Delcroix inadvertently kicked the ball off him and it spun into the goal.

However, the forward was quick to react to Haiti goalkeeper Johny Placide parrying Vinicius Jr’s shot back out. And his second was a superb finish after Vinicius Jr set him up and he blasted a shot into the top corner nine minutes before the interval.

Vinicius Jr then joined the scoring party in first-half stoppage time after ex-West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta played a brilliant ball over the top and the Real Madrid star coolly slotted home.

Cunha was pivotal to Brazil’s improved showing, helping their attack look far more fluid. The 27-year-old United striker made a strong statement here, suggesting he could be Ancelotti’s go-to man from now on.

The only sour note was Brazil face losing Raphinha after the Barcelona win was withdrawn injured. He pulled up just before the interval and was immediately substituted, managing to walk off after hitting the deck.

Referee rants

Australia’s head coach Tony Popovic was involved in a fiery exchange with match officials following their 2-0 defeat to the United States over contentious 50/50 decisions.

His player Nestory Irankunda – who Popovic had inexplicably benched after he scored in their victory last week – went a step further, claiming referee Felix Zwayer “was having a stinker” and favouring the USA with every decision.

Meanwhile, Algeria have reportedly lodged a complaint about the refereeing during their 3-0 loss to Argentina.

Reuters reports they have penned a letter to FIFA alleging that Alexis Mac Allister and Lionel Messi should have been penalised by the match officials for separate incidents.

Ronaldo storm

Cristiano Ronaldo has posted on Instagram that Portugal are ‘always united’ and has urged to “focus on what you can control” amid criticism about their World Cup start.

His team-mates have endured abuse on social media, but he is demanding unity ahead of their second fixture against Uzbekistan, following a dismal performance in a 1-1 draw with DR Congo.

However, his sisters kicked up a storm when they defended him on Instagram, with his eldest sibling Elma Aveiro calling the last result unfair and saying outsiders fail to understand the intense pressure on the squad.

Sharing a photo of her brother, Elma wrote: “I believe that beginnings are difficult, but endings are good. You are the ones on the field. It’s easy to talk. And besides, having victory stolen in this way, it’s not easy.”

According to Portuguese outlet Record, his younger sister Katia Aveiro took aim at Ronaldo’s team-mates, as she posted: “As if by magic, they forgot how to pass to each other, recover balls, launch counter-attacks.

“The game took place from the midfield to the back. Strange, this World Cup. Strange. But let’s go. Bad starts, great endings. Until the end.”