Just before the halftime whistle, Raphinha went down on the pitch and had to be subbed off during Brazil’s group-stage clash against Haiti, instantly raising injury alarms for A Seleção.
The Barcelona star winger was unable to finish the first half after suffering an apparent muscular injury. Crucially, the forward did not require a stretcher to leave the pitch, walking off under his own power to the sidelines—offering a subtle glimmer of hope for the Brazilian camp.
Teenage forward Rayan was called upon to replace Raphinha in the 39th minute, with manager Carlo Ancelotti wasting no time and taking absolutely no chances with his winger’s fitness. Brazil is expected to provide an official medical update following the conclusion of the match.
Raphinha was struggling before being subbed off
Before Raphinha’s injury forced him off, La Canarinha was already cruising with a 2-0 lead over Haiti, whose FIFA ranking was updated for the game against Brazil. However, the Barcelona winger was far from the catalyst behind that early advantage.
SofaScore handed Raphinha a modest 6.3 rating for his brief time on the pitch. His underlying stats highlighted a frustrating outing: he completed 10 passes (five of them backward), misplaced three, and failed to complete any of his three dribble attempts. He also struggled with his delivery, successfully connecting on just one of his five crosses.
Shortly after he left the pitch, Brazil extended their cushion to 3-0 thanks to a brilliant finish from Vinicius Jr. Raphinha is now expected to undergo further medical examinations to determine the exact severity of his muscular injury.
