It’s been 28 long years since Scotland were last at a World Cup finals, though there’s a strange sense of deja vu for the Scots, who will once again face Brazil and Morocco in the group stage.
H1: World Cup 2026 Group C Preview: Don Carlo’s Brazil are an interesting conundrum
It’s been 28 long years since Scotland were last at a World Cup finals, though there’s a strange sense of deja vu for the Scots, who will once again face Brazil and Morocco in the group stage.
Scotland finished bottom of the group behind that duo and Norway at France ‘98 and the world rankings suggest it’s going to be another uphill battle if they are to qualify here. The presence of minnows Haiti provides some hope for Steve Clarke’s men, who will be bidding to escape the group for the first time in their history. To see if that’s possible, we’ve taken a look at Group C in full detail for you below.
H2: World Cup 2026 Group C: World Rankings
-Brazil – Ranked 6th
-Morocco – Ranked 7th
-Scotland – Ranked 43rd
-Haiti – Ranked 82nd
H2: World Cup 2026 Group C Fixtures (UK Time)
-Brazil v Morocco, Saturday 13th June (11pm), New Jersey
-Scotland v Haiti, Sunday 14th June (2am), Foxborough
-Scotland v Morocco, Friday 19th June (11pm), Foxborough
-Brazil v Haiti, Saturday 20th June (1.30am), Philadelphia
-Scotland v Brazil, Wednesday 24th June (11pm), Miami
-Morocco v Haiti, Wednesday 24th June June (11pm), Atlanta
H2: World Cup 2026 Group C: Team-by-Team Preview
Group C features two sides in the top 10 on the world rankings, which is a rare outlier in a group stage dominated by mismatches. With plenty to play for, we’ve taken an in-depth look at each of the quartet.
H3: Brazil (1.14)
Brazil are the overwhelming 1.14 favourites with kwiff to win this group and while their sixth-placed world ranking would suggest they are shoe-ins, the price feels a little short.
The expanded World Cup means South American qualification is easier than ever before, with the top six of the 10 sides going automatically and the seventh team getting a play-off spot. It proved to be a turgid campaign for Brazil, however, who finished fifth and only above Paraguay on goal difference.
Things got so bleak that Carlo Ancelotti was parachuted in on the back of a humiliating 4-1 defeat to arch-rivals Argentina to steady the ship and ensure qualification, which he duly did barring a shock defeat to minnows Bolivia. This is not a vintage Brazil side though, as recent friendly defeats to France and Japan as well as a draw against Tunisia have shown.
There is no doubt that Brazil has talent in abundance, but star man Neymar only scraped into the squad by the skin of his teeth, while there’s no place for top Premier League and La Liga names João Pedro, Richarlison, Rodrygo and Joelinton. In Vinicius Jr though they do have one of the world’s best players.
Failing to qualify from this group is unfathomable, though there’s a lot riding on Brazil’s opening game against seventh-ranked Morocco. Brazilian expectation is such that fans are looking ahead to a potential quarter-final against England, though the world-class Ancelotti will have to work his magic once again if they’re to go deep into the tournament.
H3: Morocco (4.75)
Morocco were the standout performers in Qatar four years ago, defying all expectations to become the first African side to reach the World Cup semi-finals. The Moroccans have plenty of quality in their well-drilled side and very much lifted a monkey from their backs when dispatching of their more powerful Iberian neighbours Portugal and Spain in the knockout rounds in the Middle East.
Morocco are due to host the 2030 tournament alongside their aforementioned neighbours and they are keen to establish themselves at football’s top table, spearheaded by their world-class captain Achraf Hakimi and Real Madrid frontman Brahim Díaz. They qualified for this with ease and ‘won’ the Africa Cup of Nations as hosts in highly controversial circumstances (despite losing the final to Senegal) at the start of the year, with that contentious game highlighting a potential frailness in big matches.
It is highly unlikely that Morocco will fail to qualify for the knockout round, though two stalemates against Brazil and a well-organised Scotland side could put an awful lot of pressure on their closing game against Haiti.
H3: Scotland (10.00)
It’s been a long time between drinks for Scotland, who have made a habit of not making things easy for themselves on the footballing front. Steve Clarke’s men were handed a tricky qualifying group alongside tournament regulars Denmark and an improving Greece and they left qualification to the closing minutes of the final game, scoring two emphatic goals in added time to pull off a dramatic victory over the Danes.
This will be the third finals tournament that Clarke has led Scotland to after back-to-back appearances at the Euros, though he hasn’t escaped criticism during his tenure, with his rigid tactics blamed for two fairly miserable exits at the group stage. Scotland have been given about as tough a draw as you can imagine and anyone who knows Scottish football will be nervous about an opening game against lowly Haiti.
It’s a rare mercy from an otherwise tough draw for the Scots, who have been rocked by the injury of Billy Gilmour in the build-up, but still do have genuine quality in Andy Robertson, John McGinn and Scott McTominay. A strong result in their opening match ought to give Scotland plenty of hope of pinching a result against Morocco and going into the final game with Brazil with something to play for.
H3: Haiti (32.00)
Completing the line-up are 82nd-ranked Haiti, who are competing at the finals for just the second time ever and for the first time in 52 years. The combination of an expanded tournament and the absence of regional powerhouses USA, Mexico and Canada in qualifying could explain why Haiti are here, though they deservedly topped a group which included more regular appearance makers Costa Rica and Honduras.
The fact that manager Sébastien Migné has never set foot in the country, along with the fact that Haitians are subject to a travel ban in the US paints the picture of a troubling home life for Haiti, with this tournament appearance providing a much-needed shot in the arm for the nation. They’re not expected to pick up a point, for all that a recent 4-0 warm-up victory over New Zealand shows they have some capabilities. It may also strike some fear into any Scottish fans with a particularly nervous disposition.
Group C: Selections
Back Under 2.5 Goals in Brazil v Morocco @ 1.72 with kwiff
Back Scotland or Draw v Morocco @ 1.58 with kwiff
By Nick Seddon
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