Group C features Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, and Haiti. All eyes will be on Brazil, featuring stars like Neymar, Vinícius Júnior, Raphinha, Alisson, Gabriel, Marquinhos, Fabinho, and Casemiro, and managed by legendary Carlo Ancelotti. 2022 semifinalists Morocco will also vie for the spotlight, featuring Achraf Hakimi and Brahim Díaz. Underdogs Scotland (last qualified in 1998) and Haiti (1974) have their work cut out for them. Looking at the squads on paper, things look set up well for Brazil and Morocco to
get their guns blazing against their opponents to rev up into high gear as they move into the knockout rounds. Let’s take a look at Group C to quickly examine the teams and their chances of winning the group.
Schedule
Saturday, June 13th
Brazil vs. Morocco (6pm), Haiti vs. Scotland (9pm)
Thursday, June 19th
Scotland vs. Morocco (6pm), Brazil vs. Haiti (9pm)
Wednesday, June 24th
Scotland vs. Brazil, Morocco vs. Haiti (both 6pm)
Brazil
Since lifting the World Cup trophy in 2002, the five-time champions have lost in the quarterfinals each time, and every time to a European opponent. The one exception was when they advanced to the semifinals on home soil in 2014, only to have Germany destroy them in a 7-1 game that is remembered for the tears and shocked looks of the home fans. The star-studded roster (even without Rodrygo and Chelsea striker João Pedro) and well-decorated manager make this team seem like an easy contender to hoist the trophy. However, the going hasn’t been easy. Their qualifying campaign was their worst ever, finishing fifth in CONMEBOL and setting record lows for points and wins, with record highs for losses and goals conceded. If this World Cup followed the usual 32-team qualifying process, Brazil would’ve had to go through the intercontinental playoffs. Their fans will have to be hoping their free-flowing play can return to high gear to give them a chance in this tournament. Perhaps their March friendly results (1-2 loss to France, 3-1 win over Croatia) are a turn in the right direction.
FIFA Ranking: 6
Elo Ranking: 5
Odds of Winning Group: Favorites
One to Watch: Vinícius Júnior will need to step out of Neymar’s shadow and improve on his international career so far (8 goals in 47 Brazil caps) to give them their best chance at victory.
Haiti
It has been 52 years since Haiti’s only other World Cup appearance in 1974. With the World Cup expanding to 48 teams, it was natural that there would be newcomers to the tournament, but Haiti still had long odds to qualify ahead of Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. In some ways, the national team is doing better than the nation itself. Severe political instability has made it impossible for them to play home games in their own country, playing their home World Cup qualifiers in Curaçao. Somehow, they managed to navigate all of that and qualify for the tournament. They’ll be looking for a strong result in their opening match against Scotland, because the road will only get tougher as they move on to Brazil and Morocco.
FIFA Ranking: 83
Elo Ranking: 77
Odds of Winning: Slim Chance
One to Watch: For Haiti to have any chance, they’re going to have to score goals. And Duckens Nazon is the man that can lead the team in goal production.
Morocco
Morocco shocked the world by defeating Spain and Portugal on the way to the 2022 semifinals, where they lost to France. In the years since then, they’ve won a friendly against Brazil, recruited Brahim Díaz, and done quite well in AFCON qualifying. Now it’s their turn to show if 2022 was a flash in the pan, or if they can sustain that success and join the ranks of the elite. Their tournament starts with a bang against Brazil. That opening match will set the tone for the tournament (for both teams). It gets easier after that as they turn to the squishy part of Group C for their second and third games.
FIFA Ranking: 8
Elo Ranking: 24
Odds of Winning: Contender
One to Watch: We saw what Achraf Hakimi can do in 2022 (and we’ve seen it at Paris Saint-Germain), now it’s time to see what Real Madrid’s Brahim Díaz can do on the world stage.
Scotland
Like Haiti, Scotland has been away from the World Cup for decades, last competing in 1998. They qualified this time by topping their UEFA group that included Denmark, Greece, and Belarus, with their decisive win over Denmark helping them to clinch qualification without needing to detour into the UEFA playoffs in March. They’ve appeared in eight World Cups, but never gotten out of their group. They’ll be looking for a strong start against Haiti in their opening game to get things going, before they meet Morocco, and then close out the group stage with Brazil. I could wax poetic about Scotland longer here, but there is a reader of this website who can do it far more eloquently than I, and I think we can trust him to fill in the gaps down below in the comments section.
FIFA Ranking: 43
Elo Ranking: 28
Odds of Winning: Slim Chance
One to Watch: Scott McTominay was a solid player at Manchester United, but his 2024 move to Napoli has shown what a truly special player he can be. He is Scotland’s talisman.
Who will advance from Group C? What matches are most interesting to you? Let us know in the comments.
