Group C will begin their round robin action today, sandwiched between the remaining Group D and B games that the host countries started yesterday.
And what better way to start the group today than with the first two matchups between Top 10 sides (as of the June ranking): Brazil and Morocco in New Jersey and Haiti-Scotland from Boston Stadium in Foxboro.
Brazil-Morocco should be self-explanatory. The five-time World Cup champions against last tournament's semifinalists and one of the tri-hosts in four years time that is on a just absurd ascendancy right now.
But we're here to talk about Haiti and Scotland because it's in Boston and it's already going to be a good time. Haiti is making their second appearance all time having only played in the 1974 edition while Scotland returns after a nearly three decade absence having last qualified back in 1998. Yes there might be forty spots in the world rankings between to two, but we're hoping the CONCACAF side can give the Tartan Army a few worries during their extended stay in the Boston area.
Not that Scotland cares at the moment or probably at all, they're having too much fun...
I'm loving all the videos 😂🏴 pic.twitter.com/Zg1o00Hk1D
— Sarah 🤍🏴 (@HMFC_1874_) June 13, 2026
Why a primer and not a preview? Because this is more of a handy reference guide than it is expert analysis. I did not watch or scout 32 international teams to prepare for the World Cup let alone 48 of them because I enjoy sleep and I am not apologizing.
Sam Lattof
TV SCHEDULE
Saturday, June 13
Match 6: Brazil vs. Morocco, 6 p.m. on Fox (East Rutherford, N.J.)
Match 7: Haiti vs. Scotland, 9 p.m. on Fox (Boston)
Friday, June 19
Match 30: Scotland vs Morocco, 6 p.m. on Fox (Boston)
Match 31: Brazil vs. Haiti, 8:30 p.m. on Fox (Philadelphia)
Wednesday, June 24
Match 51: Scotland vs. Brazil, 6 p.m. on Fox (Miami)
Match 52: Morocco vs. Haiti, 6 p.m. on FS1 (Atlanta)
Jake Catanese
GROUP C TEAM PRIMERS
Author's Notes: FIFA Rankings are from the November 2025 listing at the time of the tournament draw. Players international caps/goals are relatively accurate but may not include the recent warm-up friendlies as research for these articles started weeks ago. Abbreviations next to the country names should be their official Olympic code on the score bug and the Letter/Number is their draw position for the group schedule not their pot from the initial tournament draw. Warm up friendlies in the USA are noted otherwise vs/at indicates true home/away matches.
BRAZIL [BRA/C1]
Head Coach: Carlo Ancelotti (ITA)
FIFA Ranking: 5
WinnersNickname: Canarinho (Little Canaries)
Qualification: CONEMBOL (S. America) 5th Place
Appearance: 23rd Best Finish: Champions (6 times, last in 2002)
Roster Breakdown: 7 Domestic, 8 England, 2 France, 2 Italy, 2 Spain, 2 Russia, 2 Saudi Arabia, 1 Turkey
Recent Matches: Friendly W vs Panama 6-2, Friendly (Cleveland, OH) W vs Egypt 2-1
Player To Know: FW Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid (ESP), 48 Int’l Caps/9 Int’l Goals – Clearly one of the best players in the world, playing both left wing and center forward, but somehow only scores once in every five games for Brazil. The Canaries are going to need him to have a much bigger impact than that if they want to win another title.
Player To Watch: MF Casemiro, Manchester United (ENG), 85 Int’l Caps/9 Int’l Goals – Coming off one of his best club seasons ever with 9 EPL goals this year, if the stalwart holding midfielder is heavily involved at both ends of the field with the level of form he’s in that is nightmare fuel for teams in the knockout stages.
Tournament Outlook
Qualifying was a mixed bag for Brazil, scoring just 24 goals in 18 matches and a lot of those were in blowout wins at home to Bolivia (5-1) and Peru (4-0). I know Brazil doesn’t always have their full-strength roster with superstars doing their best to manage themselves during demanding club seasons but routinely getting bounced in the quarterfinals the last two decades has taken some of the mystique away from the global giants. Despite recent performances, they’re always likely to win a knockout game or three but don’t be surprised if they don’t top this group.
Jake Catanese
HAITI [HAI/C3]
Head Coach: Sebastien Migne (FRA)
FIFA Ranking: 84
Nickname: Les Grenadiers
Qualification: CONCACAF (N. America) Group C Winner
Appearance: 2nd Best Finish: Group Stage (1974)
Roster Breakdown: 1 Domestic, 5 France, 5 USA/Canada (MLS/USL), 2 England, 2 Belgium, 2 Switzerland, 1 Ecuador, 1 Germany, 1 Iran, 1 Hungary, 1 Netherlands, 1 Slovakia, 1 Turkey
Recent Matches: Friendlies (Fort Lauderdale, FL) W vs New Zealand 4-0, L vs Peru (Miami) 1-2
Player To Know: GK Johny Placide, Bastia (FRA), 79 Int’l Caps – The ageless captain of Les Grenadiers gets to lead his team at the World Cup at the age of 38. A tale reminicent of Jaime Penedo with Panama back in 2018, if this is Placide’s swan song on the international stage it’s well deserved for a regional legend.
Players To Watch: FWs Duckens Nazon (Esteghlal, IRN) and Frantzdy Pierrot (Caykur Rizespor, TUR), 125 Combined Int’l Caps/77 Combined Int’l Goals – Everyone in CONCACAF knows how dangerous these two can be, and they’re going to have to find the scoresheet to take some pressure off their backline. Only Emmanuel “Manno” Sanon has scored for his country netting twice back in 1974 in losses against Italy and Argentina and one if not both can add their name to that exclusive list.
Tournament Outlook
Qualified on the final week with two massive wins against Costa Rica and Nicaragua, aided by the Ticos drawing 0-0 with Honduras on the final day. While they deservedly join the tournament as CONCACAF regulars sputter, this is about as brutal of a draw as Haiti could have gotten being one of the lowest-ranked teams in the field. Can they get out of the group? Yes, especially if their attack is humming like it was against New Zealand in the warm-ups. But the most realistic scenario is to beat Scotland and hope three points is enough so long as Les Grenadiers don’t get blown out in the other two games to keep the goal difference reasonable and that is a very difficult task ahead.
Jake Catanese
MOROCCO [MAR/C2]
Head Coach: Mohamed Ouahbi (BEL/MAR)
FIFA Ranking: 11
Nickname: The Atlas Lions
Qualification: CAF (Africa) Group E Winners
Appearance: 11th Best Finish: Fourth Place (2022)
Roster Breakdown: 2 Domestic, 5 France, 4 England, 4 Spain, 2 Belgium, 2 Germany, 2 Netherlands, 1 Egypt, 1 Greece, 1 Italy, 1 Saudi Arabia, 1 UAE
Recent Matches: Friendly W 5-0 vs Burundi (closed door), Friendly W vs Madagascar 4-0, Friendly (Harrison, NJ) D vs Norway 1-1
Player To Know: DF Achraf Hakimi, Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), 95 Int’l Caps/11 Int’l Goals – One of the best fullbacks in the world coming off a UCL title where he hit one of PSG’s penalties in the shootout. He was one of the breakout stars of the last World Cup, mirroring his nations rise on the world stage.
Player To Watch: F/M Brahim Diaz, Real Madrid (ESP), 24 Int’l Caps/13 Int’l Goals – While not an out-and-outen route forward, Diaz was an offensive force in the 2025/26 AFCON netting 5 goals in 5 consecutive games enroute to winning the Golden Boot. Diaz and Hakimi play on the right side together a lot which is tremendous viewing unless you’re the team trying to stop them.
Tournament Outlook
Absolutely blitzed their qualifying group by winning all eight games, only conceding twice, and finishing a full nine points clear of Niger in second place. AFCON Final shenanigans aside (they were awarded the final after Senegal walked off temporarily to protest a late penalty call), Morocco have been dominant on the international stage of late, proving their semifinal run four years ago was no fluke. They look primed to make another deep knockout run stateside, and that opening matchup with Brazil could be one of the games of the tournament.
Jake Catanese
SCOTLAND [SCO/C4]
Head Coach: Steve Clark (SCO)
FIFA Ranking: 36
Nickname: Tartan Army
Qualification: UEFA (Europe) Group C Winner
Appearance: 9th Best Finish: Group Stage (8 times, last in 1998)
Roster Breakdown: 8 Domestic, 13 England/Wales, 3 Italy, 1 Croatia, 1 Saudi Arabia
Recent Matches: Friendly W vs Curacao 4-1, Friendly (Harrison, NJ) W vs Bolivia 4-0
Player To Know: MF Scott McTominay, Napoli (ITA), 69 Int’l Caps/14 Int’l Goals – Part of the engine that makes Scotland go but he’s going to have to do a lot more now with Billy Gilmour ruled out of the World Cup after picking up a knee injury in the warm up game vs Curacao.
Player To Watch: DF Andy Robertson, Liverpool (ENG), 93 Int’l Caps/4 Int’l Goals – If Scotland is going to make it into its first ever knockout stage, their captain is going to have to lead the backline against two of the most dangerous teams in the world.
Tournament Outlook
It’s been a long time coming for Scotland, who return to the World Cup for the first time since 1998, where they played against Brazil, Morocco, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Norway, doing so in dramatic fashion with two stoppage-time goals against Denmark to top their qualifying group on the final day. I’m sure the Tartan Army with their long rivalry against the Redcoats will be welcomed with open arms as they spend nearly a week in “Boston” and their first two games at Gillette Stadium before a daunting finale against Brazil in Florida.
GROUP OVERVIEW
I know it's unfair to call anything Brazil does as "sleepwalking" because their mediocre days are still world-class. But they only won eight out of eighteen qualifiers and dropped friendlies to France and Japan in the last year. Controversial AFCON "win" aside, Morocco has barely lost in the last two years. I know Africa is not the same as the rigors of CONEMBOL but I think the Atlas Lions are setting themselves up for another major run here.
The key to this group, however, is the third-place slot. Scotland crushed Curacao and Bolivia in warm-up friendlies, and if they can exert that level of dominance against Haiti, then merely hanging with the two giants will probably be enough to get them into the knockouts. Haiti, meanwhile, pulled off a stunner by routing New Zealand, so we know that offense can turn up. If they manage to play the Scots level, or the other two just run rampant...this could be one of the groups with only two teams advancing.
Third Place Advancement: Low (Scotland)
GROUP PREDICTIONS
- Morocco 2. Brazil 3. Scotland 4. Haiti
