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Group C at the World Cup features two heavyweights in Brazil and Morocco, along with perhaps the tournament’s best traveling fan base in Scotland. It should feature some of the most compelling games in the early stages of the competition.
The Post previews Group C.
Teams listed in predicted order of finish.
Morocco
Odds to win group: +350
What you need to know: Walid Regragui’s resignation from the manager’s post following defeat to Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations final — changed to a forfeit victory months later in a highly controversial decision — brought home just how far Moroccan football has come, and how high the expectations are going into this World Cup. Regragui’s side, which went to the 2022 World Cup semifinals, hadn’t lost a game since 2023, and he still lost his job. Mohamed Ouahbi, who previously helmed Morocco’s U20 and U23 squads — he did win the U20 World Cup last year — took over less than 100 days from the World Cup.
How they play: Morocco’s run to the 2022 semifinals was the best result in history for an African team at the World Cup and reset the bar. This tournament is as good a chance as any team from the continent has ever had to better that result, largely because of the Atlas Lions. With players such as Achraf Hakimi, Hakim Ziyech, Noussair Mazraoui, Brahim Díaz and Sofyan Amrabat, Morocco has a terrific core. They can win in a variety of ways, too — building out from the back, beating teams in wide areas, pressing high, playing deep.
Star player: Morocco has a deep, well-balanced squad, but Hakimi, their right back and captain, can lay claim to being their best player. A speedy two-way player, Hakimi has a strong record of performance for the Atlas Lions as well as at the club level for Paris Saint-Germain. Along with Ziyech, Hakimi holds the record for most World Cup games played by a Moroccan national with 10.
World Cup history: Prior to 2022, there wasn’t much of note. Morocco had made the knockout rounds just once, falling in the Round of 16 in 1986, and didn’t qualify from 2002-2018. The country’s golden generation, though, produced a result beyond their wildest dreams in Qatar. Another strong result before Morocco co-hosts the event in 2030 is very much the expectation.
Brazil
Odds: -310
What you need to know: As you would expect, Brazil brings an incredibly talented squad. From goal on out, nearly every player is world-class: Alisson, Gabriel Magalhães, Marquinhos, Raphinha, Casemiro, Vinícius Júnior, Gabriel Martinelli, Matheus Cunha, Endrick, Bruno Guimarães — Brazil will be leaving players at home who could easily start for most other teams in the tournament. Manager Carlo Ancelotti’s task is to balance egos and make it all work on the pitch, something Brazil, which last won a major trophy all the way back at the 2019 Copa America, has struggled to do lately.
How they play: Ancelotti’s great strength is his tactical flexibility. He’s evolved across a club career in which he’s won five Champions League titles as well as championships in all Big Five European leagues. The World Cup opener will be just his 13th game in charge of Brazil after the federation had a somewhat chaotic four-year cycle, so he’s still in the process of putting his stamp on the side. Broadly speaking, Brazil has played out of a 4-2-3-1 under him.
Star player: Vinícius Júnior, the Real Madrid winger widely rated as one of the best players in the world. Highly skilled and technically brilliant, Vinícius has dominated La Liga and the Champions League ever since moving from Flamengo to Madrid in 2018. What he hasn’t done is translate that performance to the Seleção, where he’s scored just eight times in 45 caps. Expectations for him, and for Brazil as a whole, will be incredibly high this summer.
World Cup history: Brazil is the king of the competition, having won it five times, three of those coming in a golden 12-year run from 1958-1970. The last time the competition was in the U.S. in 1994, Brazil beat Italy on penalties at the Rose Bowl to win, and took a fifth title eight years later, a record that still stands. Since that 2002 triumph, though, it’s been messier. Brazil has lost in the quarterfinals in four of the past five World Cups — and the lone exception was in 2014, when it suffered a disastrous 7-1 defeat to Germany in the semis.
Scotland
Odds: 10/1
What you need to know: Scotland’s traveling fans, known as the Tartan Army, are famous for their geniality and for traveling in large numbers. This summer, they’ll get to support what’s likely the best team the country has boasted in some time. Behind Scott McTominay, star left back Andy Robertson and midfielder John McGinn, Scotland qualified without needing to go through the playoffs. While they lack high-end goalscorers in their forward corps, Scotland’s midfield and work ethic make them a tough team to beat.
How they play: Steve Clarke has managed Scotland since 2019, and qualified it for two European Championships along with this World Cup, its first since 1998. He’s switched tactics a number of times over the years, but expect a 3-4-2-1 formation that functions as a back five and lends itself to counterattacking. His team also functions well in a high press.
Star player: McTominay, a box-to-box central midfielder who’s broken out as a superstar since leaving Manchester United two years ago for Italian side Napoli. The 29-year-old won Serie A’s Footballer of the Year award his first season in the league, and he has a flair for dramatic late goals. A native of Lancaster, England, he chose to play for Scotland — where his father is from — after then-manager Alex McLeish made the case to him in 2018.
World Cup history: If they can get through the group stage this summer — which seems possible given the expanded format — it would mark Scotland’s best-ever performance on a World Cup stage. The Scots have qualified eight times prior, but never made it out of the group, and their last time playing in a World Cup was a generation ago, all the way back in 1998.
Haiti
Odds: 120/1
What you need to know: There’s no doubt Haiti is the underdog of this group, but with a large diaspora community on the East Coast — where they’ll play and set up base camp in New Jersey — their games should at least be a pretty loud party. Natives, though, won’t be in attendance. Haiti is one of four countries at the World Cup, along with Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Iran, on President Trump’s travel ban list. In fact, manager Sébastien Migné has never set foot in Haiti, as a result of the ongoing conflict that’s forced the national team to play home games in Curaçao.
How they play: Expect Haiti to sit back in a defensive shape with four at the back and try to pick and choose opportunities on the counterattack. That’s part out of necessity — Haiti will be a heavy underdog in all three of its games — but it worked well enough to get through CONCACAF qualifying, including wins over Costa Rica and Honduras. Players such as strikers Wilson Isidor and Duckens Nazon add some quality in attack.
Star player: Isidor, who plays for Sunderland in the Premier League, has put together a solid year domestically and is likely Haiti’s biggest player in terms of name recognition. Goalkeeper Johny Placide, though, wears the captain’s armband and has 79 career caps for the national team, having helped Haiti to a surprise semifinal run in the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
World Cup history: Haiti’s lone appearance at the competition came in 1974, when they lost three games to Italy, Poland and Argentina to exit in the group stage. The country does have a 1973 CONCACAF championship to its name, as well as a Gold Cup semifinal in 2019 and a Caribbean Cup championship in 2007.
Group C World Cup Schedule
Brazil vs. Morocco, Sat., June 13, 6 p.m., New York/New Jersey
Haiti vs. Scotland, Sat., June 13, 9 p.m., Boston
Scotland vs. Morocco, Fri., June 19, 6 p.m., Boston
Brazil vs. Haiti, Fri., June 19, 9 p.m., Philadelphia
Scotland vs. Brazil, Wed., June 24, 6 p.m., Miami
Morocco vs. Haiti, Wed., June 24, 6 p.m., Atlanta
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