World Cup Group C Preview: C is for “Compelling”
- Ken Garner
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Credit Major League Soccer
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
Brazil's Neymar, Morocco's Achraf Hakimi, Haiti's Jean-Richer Bellegarde and Scotland's Andy Robertson will lead their respective teams in the World Cup 2026 Group C competition beginning tonight.
C is for “charisma.” Or, maybe, “compelling.” With Brazil, Haiti, Morocco and Scotland, World Cup Group C features four of the most interesting competitors in the 48-team tournament.
Group C Schedule:
Saturday
• Brazil vs. Morocco, 5 p.m., Boston
• Haiti vs. Scotland, 8 p.m., New York
Friday, June 19
• Scotland vs. Morocco, 5 p.m., Boston
• Brazil vs. Haiti, 7:30 p.m., Philadelphia
Wednesday, June 24
• Morocco vs. Haiti, 5 p.m., Atlanta
• Scotland vs. Brazil, 5 p.m., Miami
BRAZIL (No. 6 in FIFA’s World Rankings) -- Five-time winner Brazil (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002), land of Pelé and o belo jogo – “the beautiful game” – hasn’t fared well in recent Cups and hasn’t played in a final winning the 2022 title against Germany in Japan. Italian coaching genius Carlo Ancellotti, the first-non-Brazilian ever to manage the Seleção, will try to reverse Brazil’s recent fortunes behind young superstar Vini Jr., 25, one of the world’s best left wingers, and veterans Marquinhos (co-captain), 32, a versatile defender who can play as a center back, defensive midfielder or right wing; Casemiro (co-captain), 34, defensive midfield; and Alisson, 33, goalkeeper.
Neymar, still the brightest Brazilian star of his generation and the club’s all-time scoring leader with 79 international goals, is on the roster but isn’t likely to impact the team’s success. He’s been injury plagued for several years and hasn’t donned Brazil’s jersey since 2023. Still, he could provide inspiration and a spark off the bench.
MOROCCO (No. 7) – In 2022, Morocco became the first African and Arab nation to make it to a World Cup semifinal, eliminating highly regarded Spanish and Portuguese teams before losing to 2018 champion and eventual 2022 runners-up France. The Atlas Lions continued that success by winning the African Nations Cup, FIFA Arab Cup, FIFA U20 World Cup and U17 Africa Cup of Nations in 2025, demonstrating the nation’s growth as a world soccer power – FIFA ranked Morocco 22nd in 2022 when they became the Cup’s best underdog story. They’re underdogs no more. Paris Saint-Germain right back Achraf Hakimi, 27, is among the best players in the world at his position. Other key Lions include Brahim Díaz, 26, a creative right winger who plays club ball at Real Madrid, and PSV Eindhoven attacking mid Ismael Saibari, 25. Rising star Ayyoub Bouaddi, 18, of LOSC Lille, is considered one of Europe’s most promising young midfielders, known for his poise, passing range and ability to control a game’s rhythm. Versatile midfielder Bilal El Khannouss, 22, who plays in Germany at VfB Stuttgart, brings speed and creativity to the Morocco attack.
Mohamed Ouahbi took over as Morocco’s head coach in March, but don’t expect any drop-off from the system developed by previous skipper Walid Regragui, the architect of the Atlas Lions’ recent success. Ouahbi guided the successful U20 side before Regragui, 50, decided to retire citing physical and mental exhaustion.
SCOTLAND (No. 42) – The Tartan Army is making its first World Cup appearance since 1998, led by coach Steve Clarke, who has led Scotland to three major tournaments since his appointment in 2019: Euro 2020, Euro 2024 and this year’s World Cup. The Scots depend on their defense and transition offense led by Liverpool’s Andy Robertson, the captain, of Liverpool, and Kieran Tierney of Celtic, both defenders, and midfielders Scott McTominay of Napoli and John McGinn of Aston Villa.
HAITI (No. 83) – Haiti has one of this competition’s most inspiring stories. With its home nation embroiled in sociopolitical unrest and gang-related violence, Les Grenadiers haven’t trained or played a match on home soil since 2021. French coach Sébastien Migné has never set foot on Haitian soil, but he has recruited a unified, disciplined underdog group of Haitian nationals playing in European and North American leagues. Duckens Nazon, Haiti’s all-time leading scorer, leads the team and the attack. He plays for Esteghlal FC in Iran. Other key players include forward Frantzdy Pierrot (Turkey’s Çaykur Rizespor), midfielder Jean-Richer Bellegarde (Wolverhampton Wanderers), and veteran defender Ricardo Adé (LDU Quito).
PREDICTION: Unfortunately, even this expanded World Cup’s format won’t allow all four squads to advance. When the matches are played, I expect dark horse favorite Morocco to sweep the group and Brazil to finish second. It would take more than one shocking result to keep one of those two from the knockout stages, and I think that’s asking too much from Scotland and Haiti, the clear underdogs. The winner between Les Grenadiers and Tartan Army should sneak into the Round of 32 as one of the better eight third-place teams. Haiti’s heart certainly could lead it by Scotland; I think it will.
Morocco -- 9 points
Brazil – 6 points
Haiti – 3 points
Scotland – 0 points
We’ll find out tonight how likely my picks will be; Brazil plays Morocco at 5 p.m. CT (finished 1-1, recap coming soon) with Haiti-Scotland up at 8 p.m (Scotland up 1-0 at the time of publishing).
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