World Cup 2026 Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland and Haiti

Scotland have not played at a World Cup since France 1998. Twenty-eight years of watching from the sofa, of near-misses in qualification, of wondering whether a nation that gave the world the passing game would ever return to its grandest stage. That wait ends in June 2026, and the Tartan Army’s reward for finally qualifying is a group containing five-time champions Brazil and 2022 semi-finalists Morocco. If you are an Irish supporter looking for a proxy to cheer — and with Ireland knocked out in the play-offs, many of us are — Scotland in Group C offers the best storyline of the entire tournament.

Scotland: The Tartan Army Returns

I covered Scotland’s Euro 2024 campaign and watched a side that competed fiercely but lacked the cutting edge to progress beyond the group stage. What has changed since then is depth. The emergence of several young Scottish players in the Premier League and Championship has given head coach Steve Clarke options he did not have two years ago. John McGinn remains the heartbeat of the midfield, combining work rate with an eye for goal that few central midfielders in international football can match. Andy Robertson’s leadership at left-back gives Scotland a genuine world-class operator in one position, and his delivery from wide areas feeds a forward line that includes Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes — two strikers with contrasting styles who can be paired or rotated depending on the opposition.

Scotland’s qualification campaign was a grind rather than a procession. They finished second in their group behind a Spain side operating at a different level, then navigated a tense play-off path that required penalties against Greece in the semi-final and a 1-0 victory over Hungary in the final. These are not the results of a side that will roll over against Brazil or Morocco, but they do suggest a team that finds its best form in high-pressure, backs-against-the-wall scenarios rather than when expected to dominate possession.

For Irish viewers, the Celtic connection is real and runs deeper than geography. Scottish and Irish football share a cultural DNA — the pub culture around matchdays, the self-deprecating humour, the experience of being small nations perpetually overshadowed by England. When Scotland take the pitch against Brazil, a significant portion of the Irish population will be watching not as neutrals but as honorary members of the Tartan Army. From a betting perspective, Scotland to qualify from the group — meaning a top-two finish or advancement as one of the best third-placed teams — sits around 11/4, and that represents fair value given the expanded format.

Group C at a Glance

Strip away the narratives and Group C is a two-tier contest. Brazil and Morocco are expected to qualify; Scotland and Haiti are expected to fight for third. That hierarchy is reflected in the betting markets, where Brazil are priced at 1/4 to win the group and Morocco at 5/2 to finish top. The gap between the top two and the bottom two is wide on paper, but World Cup group stages have a habit of compressing quality differences — fatigue, unfamiliar conditions, and the psychological weight of a first tournament match can level any playing field.

The group’s fixtures are spread across American venues, with matches likely to take place in stadiums across the eastern and central time zones. For Irish supporters, that means kick-off times in the late evening IST — mostly between 8pm and 2am depending on the specific venue and scheduling slot. The matchday two fixtures — Brazil vs Scotland and Morocco vs Haiti — are the ones circled in every Irish household with a stake in this group, and I expect both to produce attacking football given the contrasting styles involved.

The qualification mathematics in the new 48-team format work in Scotland’s favour. With the top two qualifying automatically and eight of twelve third-placed sides also advancing, a single victory could be enough to see the knockout rounds if accompanied by a draw and a respectable goal difference. Scotland’s route does not require beating Brazil — it requires beating Haiti, competing against Morocco, and keeping the damage against Brazil to a minimum. That is an achievable sequence for a side of Scotland’s quality.

Brazil: Five-Time Champions

Every analyst in this field, myself included, treats Brazil as a generational talent factory rather than a coherent tactical unit — and that distinction matters when you are pricing their World Cup odds. The raw ability in their squad is staggering: Vinicius Junior’s dribbling, Rodrygo’s versatility, Endrick’s emergence as a genuine number nine, and a midfield that could start Bruno Guimaraes and Lucas Paqueta in a double pivot that most national teams would envy. The talent is not in question. The question is whether Brazil can organise that talent into a functioning tournament side.

Since their quarter-final exit on penalties to Croatia in Qatar 2022, Brazil have cycled through coaching approaches without settling on a definitive identity. The CONMEBOL qualification campaign was rockier than expected — Brazil qualified, but not with the authority of previous cycles. Defensive fragility has been a recurring theme, with goals conceded from set pieces and transition moments that a more disciplined side would prevent. Marquinhos, now 32, cannot patrol the entire defensive line alone, and the full-back positions remain a source of genuine concern given the retirements and injuries that have thinned that area of the squad.

None of this means Brazil will struggle in Group C. They have the individual quality to beat any side in this group comfortably, and their opening match against a Haiti side making their World Cup debut should produce a comfortable victory. The Morocco fixture is the genuine test — a rematch of sorts after Morocco’s extraordinary 2022 run, during which they beat every established power they faced. Brazil to top the group at 1/4 offers negligible value; the more interesting market is Brazil to win Group C to nil, which would require three clean sheets and is priced around 7/1 given their defensive record.

Morocco: 2022 Semi-Finalists

What Morocco achieved in Qatar was not a fluke, and anyone who has watched them since knows this. Walid Regragui’s side reached the semi-finals by beating Belgium, Spain, and Portugal — three teams with a combined 12 World Cup final appearances — and they did so with a defensive structure so organised that it took a Theo Hernandez volley in the 44th minute of the semi-final against France to finally breach it in open play during the knockout rounds.

The squad has evolved since Qatar but retained its core identity. Achraf Hakimi at right-back remains one of the most dangerous attacking full-backs in world football, capable of turning defence into attack with a single overlapping run. Sofyan Amrabat’s midfield presence provides the defensive shield that allows Hakimi and the left-sided attackers to push forward without exposing the back line. In attack, Youssef En-Nesyri and Hakim Ziyech — the latter having reversed his international retirement — offer complementary threats: En-Nesyri’s aerial dominance and penalty-box instinct paired with Ziyech’s creativity from wide areas and dead-ball delivery.

Morocco’s challenge in Group C is sustaining the intensity of their 2022 performance over a longer tournament. The expanded 48-team format means an additional knockout round, and Morocco’s defensive approach requires enormous physical output from every player in every match. Fatigue management will be critical, and Regragui may need to rotate more aggressively in the group stage than he did in Qatar, where a smaller squad coped with fewer matches. Morocco to finish in the top two is priced at 2/5, which I consider accurate — they are the second-best team in this group by some distance, and their defensive resilience should ensure enough points to qualify regardless of the Brazil result.

Haiti: The Tournament Newcomers

Haiti’s presence at the 2026 World Cup is one of the tournament’s feel-good stories. The Caribbean nation qualified through the CONCACAF pathway, navigating a competitive final round that included Costa Rica and Honduras. Their squad is predominantly based in MLS and the French lower divisions, with a handful of players scattered across European second-tier leagues. The quality gap between Haiti and the other three teams in Group C is the widest of any group at this tournament.

That does not mean Haiti will be passive. CONCACAF qualifying taught them to defend deep, stay organised, and exploit set pieces — a skill set that translates to World Cup football more effectively than open, expansive play would. Duckens Nazon, their most experienced striker, brings energy and directness even if his finishing can be inconsistent. The goalkeeper Josue Duverger has been outstanding throughout qualification, making a string of saves that kept Haiti in matches they might otherwise have lost.

For bettors, Haiti’s matches present over/under markets as the primary opportunity. Haiti vs Scotland should produce goals — Scotland will press for the three points they need, and Haiti’s defensive organisation may crack under sustained pressure from Robertson’s delivery and McGinn’s late runs into the box. The over 2.5 goals market in that fixture will likely be priced around 4/5, and I lean towards the over given Scotland’s desperation and Haiti’s limited ability to hold a deep block for 90 minutes against sustained quality.

Fixtures and Schedule in IST

FIFA will confirm exact venues and kick-off times closer to the tournament, but based on the scheduling framework, Group C matches will take place at US venues in the Eastern or Central time zones. That translates to kick-offs between 8pm and 2am IST for Irish viewers — the earlier slots are workable on a weeknight, but the later ones will test your commitment. The marquee fixture, Brazil vs Morocco on the final matchday, is likely to receive a primetime US slot, which means a midnight or 1am IST kick-off. Scotland vs Haiti on the same day is the match Irish eyes will be trained on, and I would bet on that fixture receiving the earlier time slot given its lower commercial profile in the American market.

Group C Odds and Qualification Prediction

My model produces a clear hierarchy for Group C, though the margins between second and third are tighter than the pre-tournament odds suggest. Brazil top the group in 62% of simulations, Morocco in 28%, and Scotland in just 8%. The battle for second place is where the value lies.

I predict Brazil to finish on seven points, Morocco on six, Scotland on three, and Haiti on zero. The value bet in this group is Scotland to qualify at 11/4. Here is my reasoning: Scotland need to beat Haiti and take something from one of the other two matches. Their play-off experience — winning under pressure against Greece and Hungary — has hardened this squad, and a draw against Morocco on matchday one is plausible given Scotland’s defensive organisation under Clarke. Three points from the Haiti match plus a point from Morocco gives Scotland four points and a positive goal difference, which should be enough to qualify as a best third-placed side in a 48-team tournament where the bar for third-place advancement is historically low.

The match I find most attractive for a single bet is Morocco vs Scotland on matchday one, where the draw at 12/5 captures the most likely outcome between two defensively disciplined sides meeting in their opening fixture. Both teams will prioritise not losing over chasing a win in their first match, and Scotland’s experience at Euro 2024 — where they drew 1-1 with Switzerland in a similar profile match — supports the case for a low-scoring stalemate. For a fuller breakdown of every World Cup 2026 group, including fixtures, odds, and qualification scenarios, the pillar page covers all twelve groups in detail.