MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — A sellout crowd of 64,487 of the most fun-loving and endearing fans in world soccer, the Brazilians and Scotland’s Tartan Army, partied together outside and inside Hard Rock Stadium Monday evening as their teams played their World Cup group finale.

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The Tartan Army, which captured the hearts of Bostonians and South Floridians with its kilts, bagpipes and friendly spirit, was severely outnumbered in a sea of yellow-shirted Brazilians among the crowd on Wednesday.

Their team was also overwhelmed, as Brazil won 3-0, taking a 2-0 lead into halftime after a pair of goals by Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior.

He scored in the 7th minute and in the third minute of first-half added time. He almost had a hat trick, but one of his goals was disallowed after video review ruled a foul was committed before his shot. Each of his goals set off a deafening roar from the Brazilian fans (and some Brazilian media members in the press box).

Cunha made it 3-0 at the 60-minute mark with his third goal of the tournament, hurting, but not ending, Scotland’s chances of advancing to the knockout round for the first time in history. With the victory, Brazil won Group C, while the Scots must sit and wait to learn their fate.

“We are now playing as a team; it’s not perfect yet, we have edges to smooth out and could be a bit faster, but I’m happy because we improved a lot very fast from the first game,” said Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti. “Our goal was to be first in the group, and now me must keep our feet on the ground and keep preparing for the next round.”

Scotland coach Steve Clarke said he expects Brazil to make a deep run, perhaps to the semifinal or even the final.

With the brace, Vini Jr., has four goals in the tournament, which ties France’s Kylian Mbappe and Norway’s Erling Haaland, and is one behind Argentina legend and Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi, who has five goals and celebrated his 39th birthday on Wednesday.

Brazilian fans had been waiting for a star to shine and for the five-time World Cup champions to live up to their pedigree. Vini Jr. gave them something to cheer about in the first half and the possibility of superstar Neymar entering the game off the bench in the second half after a long absence had fans buzzing. They began chanting his name in the 65th minute, urging coach Carlo Ancelotti to put him in.

Neymar, who had been out with a calf injury, finally got into the game in the 76th minute, and got a huge ovation.

It’s been 24 years since Brazil last won the tournament. They lost four times in the quarterfinals and then there was that embarrassing 7-1 semifinal loss to Germany on home soil at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Brazil did not impress in World Cup qualification, either. The team won eight games, tied four and lost six. They lost to Uruguay, Colombia, Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina (twice).

Scotland, meanwhile, entered the game hoping to keep its party going for at least another round. The Scots have never advanced from the group stage in eight previous World Cup appearances.

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This time, there was reason for optimism as Scotland knew it did not need to win or even draw to get into the knockout round for the first time in their history. A close loss might even be enough with the expanded field of 48 sending eight third-place group finishers to the next round. Scotland has three points from its opening win over Haiti, and even with a 3-0 loss to Brazil could squeak in, depending on the results of the remaining group stage games.

The Scots have a long history of facing Brazil in World Cups and have never won. Over the 60 years they have faced each other, Scotland has faced Brazilian stars Zico, Romario, Roberto Carlos, Cafu, Rivaldo and Ronaldo. On Wednesday, Vini Jr. and Neymar joined the list.

“We were playing a top quality team with a deadly attack, and we gave them the first two goals, and probably the third goal, as well,” said Scotland coach Steve Clarke. “In the second half we got the ball into the box a number of times, created one or two chances, but nothing really clean.”

No matter the result, fans had a good time from the moment they arrived on the stadium grounds.

Before the game, two young Brazilian boys showed their fancy dance moves to the tunes of a bagpipe played by Scottish Tartan Army fan Mark Love, who was visiting from Edinburgh. A crowd of Brazilian and Scottish fans danced together and juggled a soccer ball back and forth as music blared from speakers in the Fan Zone.

Every imaginable yellow, green and blue wig was on display among the sea of kilts outside Hard Rock Stadium (re-named Miami Stadium for the World Cup), faces were painted in all the team colors, and fans of both teams posed for photos together.

Soaking it all were five lifelong friends from Aberdeen, Scotland, wearing tartan suits and sunburns. Bev Hendry, 72, and his brother, Brian Hendry, 67, drove to Miami in a van after attending the two games in Boston along with friends Bob Greig, 70, Steve Docherty, 56, and John Erskine, 77.

They stayed in an Airbnb in Arlington, Mass., and were touched by the hospitality of their neighbors.

“The first night, somebody left a bottle of whiskey on our front porch, the second night, they left a case of beer,” Bev Hendry said. “It was amazing. In Scotland, there was so much negativity about the World Cup in the U.S. that nobody was expecting us to be made welcome. We came here and everyone’s been brilliant.”

Meanwhile, Brazilian fan Carolina Neri, who was born in Sao Paolo but lives in Miami, attended the game alone, carrying a large photo of her husband’s face visible in a clear plastic purse. It was her dream to attend a Brazil World Cup game, they thought they couldn’t get tickets, but her husband surprised her last Friday and bought her a ticket to the game.

“I had gotten us tickets for the Uruguay vs. Saudi Arabia game, but there was a mixup with my FIFA ticketing and I never got the ticket, so my husband surprised me and got me this ticket, which is a dream come true for me,” Neri said. “I can’t believe I’m here!”

Tickets for Wednesday’s match were hard to get, and the cheapest seats were going for $3,000 on the day of the game. Everyone wanted to see this World Cup party.

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