#group c

🇧🇷 Brazil vs 🇲🇦 Morocco

Fri Jun 13, 18:00 UTC-4, New Jersey

What a start to this group! The best team in World Cup history vs. the best team in Africa and the last cup’s surprise semifinalists. #6 vs #7 in the world.

Brazil enter this tournament having had a lackluster qualifying campaign. Because of their historical performance, they are always among the tournament favorites, regardless of form, but many pundits aren’t even considering them this year. However, their last World Cup win in 2002 came after a disappointing showing in the qualifiers as well, and they ended up winning all seven matches.

Their opponents, Morocco, are the reigning African champions (though that depends who you ask and what month it is, but officially for now anyway). They’ve outscored their opponents 21-3 in their last 10 matches (not counting the AFCON final debacle) with 7 clean sheets. And their leader, Achraf Hakimi, is coming off another great season with PSG and is the reigning African player of the year. Morocco won their last contest against Brazil, 2-1, in a friendly.

To their credit, Brazil do look better poised for a positive World Cup showing now that head coach Carlo Ancelotti seems settled in. As usual, they will rely on their offensive prowess, with Vini and Raphinha expected to deliver. It’s their back line that seems vulnerable, with instability defining the wing-back positions, especially.

Even without Neymar in the first game, Brazil will probably find itself on the score sheet. But they’ll also give up a few. It’s a disappointing start and a wake-up call for the Seleçao: 1-1.

*Full disclosure: I think there’s a very high possibility Brazil could lose this opener. But as an avid fan of four decades, I can’t bring myself to type that.

🇭🇹 Haiti vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland

Fri June 13, 21:00 UTC-4, Boston

The Grenadiers return to the World Cup after 52 years. The 83rd ranked team in the world will mark their return by squaring off against the Tartan Army, themselves returning after a 28-year hiatus.

Neither team has been in great form, but Scotland (ranked 43rd in the world) should easily have the upper hand. With relatively easy competition, Scott McTominay will have ample opportunity to find his form and establish himself as a force to be reckoned with this tournament.

Despite 8 previous appearances, Scotland have never made it to the knockout rounds. They may never have a better chance that in this new 48-team format, but they’ve landed a tough group with two heavy hitters in Brazil and Morocco. That means this match against Haiti is a must win and their best chance.

They’ll get the job done, despite some gutsy defending from Haiti, who have posted 5 clean sheets in their last 10 matches. Scotland 1 - Haiti 0.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland vs 🇲🇦 Morocco

Thu Jun 19, 18:00 UTC-4, Boston

After an exhilarating win in the first match, the Tartan Army will be riding high. But they might hit a wall against a fast Morocco side that will be desperate to post a win.

There’s some World Cup history to this fixture: Back in 1998, Scotland needed a win against Morocco to progress out of a very tough group (the other teams were ranked #1, #7, and #13 in the world). Trailing 1-0, Craig Burley was given a red card after a lunging tackle, which sealed their fate. They lost 3-0.

Desperate to overturn history, Scotland will want a big result. However, their attack doesn’t match up well against Morocco’s organized defense. Even if they do manage to break through, Bounou in net is a touch wall to break down. Will Morocco have had time to recover from a heated contest with Brazil, though? Most people would pick Morocco for the win here, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it might be a draw: 1-1. We need to have some surprises, right?

🇧🇷 Brazil vs 🇭🇹 Haiti

Thu Jun 19, 20:30 UTC-4, Philadelphia

Brazil will be desperate for a win to secure their promotion to the next round, and this is the match to do it. Neymar should be fit in time for this match, and even if he doesn’t start, we should expect to see him come off the bench as a second half sub. That will get the crowd going wild.

The wealth of Haiti’s experience against CONCACAF opposition will not be enough to ready them for the onslaught of a talented Brazilian defense. Expect the Seleçao to try to run up the score here, to boost their chances of topping the group.

But the Brazil back line will still show some holes — enough for a memorable moment by Duckens Nazon to score a historic goal for his country against the mighty Samba Kings.

Brazil 5 - Haiti 1.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland vs 🇧🇷 Brazil

Wed Jun 24, 18:00 UTC-4, Miami

Scotland have never defeated Brazil in their 10 previous meetings, losing 8 and drawing 2. But it’s been 15 years since their last meeting, so perhaps the door is open for a historic result.

Still, I think Brazil will be ready to perform. Had they won their first two games, they may have gone easy in this one or fielded a reserve squad, but with top spot in the group on the line, Brazil will give it their all. The Miami heat will make it even extremely challenging for the Scots to absorb pressure for a full 90 minutes. And Neymar will be keen to show he can still deliver. Look for some magic in the second half from him.

Brazil 2 - Scotland 0.

🇲🇦 Morocco vs 🇭🇹 Haiti

Wed Jun 24, 18:00 UTC-4, Atlanta

Had Morocco had better results from their opening fixtures, they’d probably rotate their squad, opening the door for Haiti to improve their results somewhat. But desperate for a win, the Atlas Lions will likely field their top XI, which should make this game a no-contest.

Haiti, who was outscored 14-2 in their last World Cup appearance, will better their stats, but not their record. They’ll be forced to sit deep and depend on counterattacking opportunities, which may be far and few between.

Morocco win easily to secure a knockout stage position: 3-0.