Are you all ready to party like it’s 1998? Scotland’s men are making their long-awaited return to a World Cup and the Tartan Army will be reunited with two of their group stage opponents from 28 years ago in Brazil and Morocco. Fancy that.
Haiti also join the fun and will be making just their second World Cup appearance, as well as their first since 1974. The Caribbean nation are first up for Steve Clark’s side, whose hopes of becoming the first Scotland team to advance from a group stage of a major tournament could rest on that opening clash in Foxborough. Ooft.
Group C, after all, is the only pool at this expanded World Cup to feature two top-10 nations in Brazil, the record five-time champions, and Morocco, the (massive asterisk) African champions and World Cup semi-finalists from four years ago. It’s a belter of a group.
Group C fixtures
(all times BST)
13 June, 11pm: Brazil v Morocco, MetLife Stadium, New Jersey
14 June, 2am: Haiti v Scotland, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
19 June, 11pm: Scotland v Morocco, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
20 June, 1:30am: Brazil v Haiti, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
24 June, 11pm: Scotland v Brazil, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
24 June, 11pm: Morocco v Haiti, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
It’s been a long old wait for Brazil since they last won the World Cup in 2002. The Selecao have not really come close in that time, either. And given their 24-year drought equals the gap between 1970 and 1994, Brazil would be entering new territory should they fail to go all the way this summer: it would be their longest spell without winning a World Cup since the football-obsessed nation earned the first of their record five stars in 1958.
So something radical has occurred. Brazil will be led by their first ever foreign manager in Carlo Ancelotti, one of European football’s most decorated coaches and a five-time Champions League winning manager with Real Madrid and AC Milan. The sight of Ancelotti’s arching eyebrow presiding over the eternal psychodrama of Brazil bidding to win the World Cup will be fascinating, and the shock recall of Neymar has thrown another firework into the mix.
Neymar, now 34, has not played for Brazil since October 2023. He is Brazil’s all-time leading scorer but has struggled for form and fitness for a number of years. So his surprise inclusion in Ancelotti’s squad, over someone like Joao Pedro, rather encapsulates the question at the heart of the Selecao: do they really have the strength and depth in midfield and defence to go all the way, or will they represent style and image over substance once again?
Squad
Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool), Ederson (Fenerbahce), Weverton (Gremio)
Defenders: Alex Sandro (Flamengo), Bremer (Juventus), Danilo (Flamengo), Douglas Santos (Zenit), Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal), Ibanez (Al Ahli), Leo Pereira (Flamengo), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Wesley (Roma)
Midfielders: Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle), Casemiro (Manchester United), Danilo Santos (Botafogo), Fabinho (Al Ittihad), Lucas Paqueta (Flamengo)
Forwards: Endrick (Lyon), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Igor Thiago (Brentford), Luiz Henrique (Zenit), Matheus Cunha (Manchester United), Neymar (Santos), Raphinha (Barcelona), Rayan (Bournemouth), Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
Coach: Carlo Ancelotti
Star player: Vinicius Jr. The heir to Neymar’s throne, which may complicate things a little given the king is still hanging around, Vinicius’s best form for Real Madrid came under Ancelotti and the pair have a close relationship. At his peak, the winger is a thrilling dribbler and brilliant finisher who possesses a knack for delivering in the biggest games.
Breakout talent: Rayan. The 19-year-old quickly found his feet in the Premier League following his arrival at Bournemouth from Vasco de Gama in January. A tall, powerful winger with a forceful left foot, his immediate impact in England has justified the excitement he generated in Brazil, and a World Cup call-up further adds to his rapid rise.
Fifa ranking: 6.
Odds to win the World Cup: 8/1, via oddschecker.
The Atlas Lions made history at the 2022 World Cup by becoming the first African team to reach the semi-finals. Their build-up to 2026 has been rather more acrimonious, as a result of the events of the Africa Cup of Nations final against Senegal. Walid Regragui, the coach from 2022, departed just three months before the start of this World Cup, stating that Morocco needed a “fresh face, a different energy”. Morocco, after all, did not win the Afcon final, with Senegal stripped of their title and the result overturned following their walk-off.
On the pitch, Morocco were not particularly inspiring during Afcon and relied on a couple of, eh, questionable refereeing decisions to even reach their own final, which rather played into Senegal’s incredulity at how the closing stages of the showpiece played out. But the key to their unexpected success in Qatar was their defensive resilience against stronger opponents, which contrasted to their status of pre-tournament favourites at Afcon. Many expect them to be awkward opponents once again.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Al-Hilal), Munir El Kajoui (Berkane), Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti (Asfar)
Defenders: Nayef Aguerd (Marseille), Youssef Belammari (Al Ahly), Issa Diop (Fulham), Zakaria El Ouahdi (Genk), Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain), Redouane Halhal (KV Mechelen), Noussair Mazraoui (Manchester United), Chadi Riad (Crystal Palace), Anass Salah-Eddine (PSV)
Midfielders: Sofyan Amrabat (Real Betis), Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille), Neil El Aynaoui (Roma), Bilal El Khannouss (Stuttgart), Samir El Mourabet (Strasbourg), Azzedine Ounahi (Girona), Ismael Saibari (PSV)
Forwards: Ayoube Amaimouni (Eintracht Frankfurt), Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid), Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiacos), Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (Real Betis), Yassine Gessime (Strasbourg), Soufiane Rahimi (Al-Ain), Chemsdine Talbi (Sunderland)
Coach: Mohamed Ouahbi
Star player: Brahim Diaz. The Real Madrid attacker fluffed a Panenka when handed the chance to win Morocco their first African title since 1976. But he was also their top scorer, with five goals. Although Morocco were ultimately declared champions, Diaz will be chasing redemption after the ignominy of that miss.
Breakout talent: Ayoub El Kaabi. Morocco’s overhead kick specialist. There is a compilation out there of his best acrobatic goals. It is three minutes and 37 seconds long. And that doesn’t even include the two bicycle kicks he scored during this year’s Afcon. Will the world witness another on the biggest stage?
Fifa ranking: 8.
Odds to win the World Cup: 50/1
The night Scotland ended their 28-year wait to appear at a men’s World Cup will live long in the memory. In time, Scott McTominay’s outrageous overhead kick, Kieran Tierney’s dramatic curling strike and Kenny McLean’s qualification-sealing lob from inside his own half may go down as three of the best goals Scotland have ever scored. That they all came in that dizzying 4-2 win over Denmark at Hampden added to the magic of an unforgettable occasion.
Now, though, comes the hard part. Scotland’s faith in Steve Clarke was vindicated after the head coach steered the Tartan Army to a third major tournament in six years. The travelling number brought noise and passion to Euro 2024 and also appeared at Euro 2020 but on the pitch their involvement was largely forgettable, with two group-stage exits. Under Clarke, Scotland’s record at major tournaments is zero wins, two draws and four defeats. It has been painful.
But in a 48-team World Cup, one win may be good enough to advance and Scotland will not have a better opportunity than in their opening match against Haiti. With Morocco and Brazil to come, it really could be do or die in the wee hours of the morning on June 14.
The positives for Scotland is they retain an experienced, cohesive squad, with talismen in Scott McTominay and John McGinn who are inspirational figures not just for Scotland but at club level for Napoli and Aston Villa and respectively. The concerns, once again, lie in the lack of an elite, proven goalscorer at No 9, the lack of pace in wide areas and the lack of minutes for their three chosen goalkeepers.
At 43, Craig Gordon would become the second-oldest player to feature at a World Cup if the Hearts goalkeeper is called into action. He is not the only member of Clarke’s ageing squad to reckon this World Cup is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon (Hearts), Angus Gunn (Nottingham Forest), Liam Kelly (Rangers)
Defenders: Grant Hanley (Hibernian), Jack Hendry (Al-Etiffaq), Aaron Hickey (Brentford), Dom Hyam (Wrexham), Scott McKenna (Dinamo Zagreb), Nathan Patterson (Everton), Anthony Ralston (Celtic), Andy Robertson (Liverpool), John Souttar (Rangers), Kieran Tierney (Celtic)
Midfielders: Ryan Christie (Bournemouth), Finlay Curtis (Kilmarnock), Lewis Ferguson (Bologna), Ben Gannon-Doak (Bournemouth), Tyler Fletcher (Manchester United), John McGinn (Aston Villa), Kenny McLean (Norwich), Scott McTominay (Napoli)
Forwards: Che Adams (Torino), Lyndon Dykes (Charlton), George Hirst (Ipswich), Lawrence Shankland (Hearts), Ross Stewart (Southampton)
Coach: Steve Clarke
Star player: Scott McTominay. The glow-up since moving to Napoli has been wonderful. A scudetto-winning legend in Naples, nominated for last season’s Ballon d’Or, McTominay has developed an aura that brings genuine hope to the Tartan Army. The overhead kick against Denmark will be replayed over and over, but we’ll take a tap-in in the USA. Either way, his ability to arrive into the box and produce a decisive moment could be crucial to getting through.
Breakout talent: Ben Gannon Doak. The winger made a huge difference for Scotland in World Cup qualifying, injecting a raw ability to beat a man out wide into a team that is often painfully one-paced. That Gannon Doak has barely played since the win over Denmark due to a hamstring injury, and only returned to action for Bournemouth shortly before the end of the season, could be an issue.
Fifa ranking: 43.
Odds to win the World Cup: 250/1
Haiti qualified for their first World Cup in 52 years despite not playing a single game at home; meaning that their coach, the Frenchman Sebastien Migne, has actually never set foot in the Caribbean nation. Armed gangs have taken over the capital Port-au-Prince, displacing an estimated 1.5 million people, and a humanitarian crisis engulfs the country.
Haiti played all of their qualifiers away from home, including their ‘home’ games 500 miles away in Curacao, but overcame the odds to beat Nicaragua 2-0 in their final qualifier and join Brazil, Morocco and Scotland in Group C. All but one of Haiti’s 26-man squad plays their football outside of Haiti and Woodensky Pierre, who is based there, only received his US visa last week. Fans from Haiti are banned from travelling to the United States but there is a large diaspora who will hope to roar their nation to a first ever World Cup win.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Johnny Placide (Bastia), Alexandre Pierre (Sochaux), Josue Duverger (FC Cosmos Koblenz)
Defenders: Carlens Arcus (Angers), Wilguens Pauguain (Zulte Waregem), Duke Lacroix (Colorado Springs), Martin Experience (Nancy), Jean-Kevin Duverne (KAA Gent), Ricardo Ade (LDU Quito), Hannes Delcroix (Lugano), Keeto Thermoncy (Young Boys Berne)
Midfielders: Leverton Pierre (Vizela), Carl-Fred Sainthe (El Paso Locomotive), Jean-Jacques Danley (Philadelphia Union), Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (Wolves), Pierre Woodenski (Violette), Dominique Simon (Tatran Presov)
Forwards: Louicius Deedson (Dallas), Ruben Providence (Almere City), Josue Casimir (Auxerre), Derrick Etienne (Toronto), Wilson Isidor (Sunderland), Duckens Nazon (Esteghlal), Frantzdy Pierrot (Caykur Rizespor), Yassin Fortune (Vizela), Lenny Joseph (Ferencvaros).
Coach: Sebastien Migne
Star player: Duckens Nazon. The captain scored six goals in qualifying and leads the line for his nation.
Breakout talent: Wilson Isidor. Coming off an excellent season at Sunderland, the French-born Isidor has switched allegiances.
Fifa ranking: 83.
Odds to win the World Cup: 3000/1
Group C prediction
I expect Scotland to finish third, behind Brazil and Morocco, with three points after beating Haiti; whether that is enough to qualify is hard to say. Securing a narrow defeat against either Brazil or Morocco could prove crucial.
