World Cup 2026: Group C Preview

Group C of the 2026 FIFA World Cup is one of the most intriguing to keep an eye on this Summer, featuring Brazil, one of the tournament’s heavyweights, Morocco, a 2022 World Cup Semi-finalist, and Scotland and Haiti, two nations that are breaking long-time World Cup appearance droughts with their participation in this year’s competition.

North America 2026: Group C Preview

Brazil’s potentially dangerous attack and Morocco’s lockdown defense are heavy favorites to advance out of Group C, but Scotland and Haiti both bring a great story and teams full of fight and passion to this year’s World Cup and could create group stage drama if one of the favorites at any point slips up and fails to take care of business. 

The FIFA World Cup trophy at the FIFA World Cup 26 Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola at The Coke Studio at LA Live.

Kirby Lee

Brazil

Brazil, while one of the favorites to top Group C and potentially lift the trophy later this Summer as the 6th-best-ranked team in FIFA, comes into the 2026 World Cup with varying levels of confidence among supporters and immense pressure on the team to succeed. 

Speaking of success, Brazil, the nation with the most World Cup trophies in its cabinet, is now led by Carlo Ancelotti, one of the most decorated managers in the sport’s history. But taking charge of a National team is different than a club one, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be Ancelotti’s first time in charge of a National squad, which struggled its way through the team’s worst World Cup Qualifying campaign in history, finishing 5th and losing to Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Paraguay, and Uruguay in the process. 

Things have been more positive for Brazil since Ancelotti took charge in May, following the country’s 4-1 loss to Lionel Messi and Argentina, with a draw on the road against Colombia and wins against Paraguay and Chile, which officially punched their ticket to the 2026 World Cup. 

Due to injuries to key players such as Estêvão, Rodrygo, and Eder Militão, Carlo Ancelotti seems set to deploy a front 4 of Vinícius Júnior, Matheus Cunha, Raphinha, and Gabriel Martinelli.  The midfield, which could be duo’d by Casemiro and Bruno Guimarães, will act as defensive support for the likes of Champions League Final Center Backs in Arsenal’s Gabriel and PSG’s Marquinhos.  Between the sticks is Liverpool’s Alisson, making his 3rd World Cup appearance for Brazil.

Other notable players on Brazil’s stacked squad are Luiz Henrique, 19-year-old Endrick, Brentford forward Igor Thiago, and 34-year-old Neymar Jr, a surprise call-up to the World Cup this summer. 

Match 1 will be an important one and a tone-setter for Brazil, facing off against Morocco, who are difficult to play against and are the other favorite to advance through Group C. If Brazil struggles to break down Morocco’s backline and draw or lose to the African side, it would only take one more slip-up for Brazil’s chances of making the knock-out stage to be in jeopardy. But on the other side, a win with attacking success could set Brazil up to breeze through Group C. 

For fans in Philadelphia, they’ll get a chance to catch one of the World’s best teams on June 19th as they take on Haiti in Match 2, before Brazil takes on Scotland in the final match of group play to decide which teams officially advance, which Brazilian fans will hope is all but confirmed come kick-off. 

Argentina's Cristian Romero in action with Brazil's Vinicius Junior

RODRIGO VALLE

Morocco

After becoming the first African nation to reach the Semi-Finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Morocco comes into 2026 with expectations to disrupt the playing field once again and to field a more well-rounded squad than the one that surprised the world in the last tournament. 

Led by Head Coach Mohamed Ouahbi, who was promoted to the senior team after Walid Regragui’s surprise departure in March of this year, Morocco comes into 2026 as one of the favorites to advance through Group C and is considered one of, if not the best, team from Africa, currently sitting 8th in FIFA’s overall ranking. Morocco will enter the World Cup having played 3 matches under Ouahbi, drawing 1-1 with Ecuador and beating Paraguay and Burundi. 

With a stingy backline that only conceded twice through 8 unbeaten World Cup qualifier games, Morocco’s defense is anchored by PSG’s Achraf Hakimi, maybe the biggest star in Moroccan footballing history, who will likely be accompanied by Olympique Marseille’s Nayef Aguerd, Fulham’s Issa Diop, and Manchester United’s Noussair Mazraoui.  Atlas Lions have options in the midfield, including Sofyan Amrabat, who caught the attention of many with his play during the last World Cup; AS Roma’s Neil El Aynaou; Strasbourg’s 20-year-old Samir El Mourabet; Girona’s Azzedine Ounahi; and Stuttgart’s Bilal El Khannouss.

Rounding out the attack is Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz, Abde Ezzalzouli of Real Betis, and Olympiacos’ Ayoub El Kaabi, with help off the bench from Sunderland’s Chemsidine Talbi.  Morocco's goal will be Yassine Bounou, one of the best goalkeepers in the 2022 World Cup, the 2025 African Cup of Nations, and the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. If things go to PKs at any point, Yassine Bounou being between the posts gives Morocco a huge advantage. 

Morocco will start the 2026 World Cup against Brazil, which feels like a bigger game for their opponents than it does for themselves. Ouahbi’s side will surely want to get things started on the correct note, but know that wins against Scotland in Match 2 and Haiti in Match 3 will likely be enough to punch their ticket to the knockstage stage as the #2 place team in Group C, despite their result against Brazil. Whether or not they can make a deep run in the Knockout stage once again is the question. 

Morocco's Achraf Hakimi talks to Paraguay's Miguel Almiron and coach Gustavo Alfaro.

CATHERINE STEENKESTE

Scotland

Scotland’s participation in the 2026 edition of the FIFA World Cup is one of the better stories in this Summer’s tournament, with the Scots ending a 28-year World Cup appearance drought that required a win against Denmark on the final matchday of the qualifying stage.

Currently sitting at 43rd in FIFA’s overall rankings, Scotland will enter the tournament looking to advance to the Knockout round for the first time in the country’s history, and may have an opportunity to do so by finishing as one of the 8 best 3rd place teams throughout the 12 World Cup groups, thanks to the new format in this year’s expanded competition. 

Scotland, led by Steve Clarke who took over in 2019 and inherited a team in which fans had a hard time envisioning qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, chagred his team through Group C of the UEFA Qualifying stage with a record of 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in 6 matches, out-scoring their opponent by a total of 13 goals scored to 7 goals conceded in that span.

Scotland officially punched their ticket to the 2026 World Cup after defeating Denmark in the final game of the qualifying stage, which featured a Scott McTominay stunner and a long-range goal from midfield off the boot of Kenny McClean to seal the deal and send the Scots to North America this Summer. 

Scotland is led by midfielder Scott McTominay, who left Manchester United in hopes of a career resurgence and found just that in Italy, scoring 12 goals, winning the 2025 Serie A Player of the Year award, and helping Napoli to a league title in his first season in Naples. Joining him in the midfield are Premier League-proven John McGinn of Aston Villa and Bournemouth’s Ryan Christie, as well as young players to watch in Ben Gannon-Doak and Findlay Curtis. 

Steve Clarke will look at Che Adams, Lyndon Dykes, and Lawrence Shankland as options to lead the attack up front, and will rely on a backline made up of Dinamo Zagreb’s Scott McKenna, Brentford’s Aaron Hickey, and team Captain Andy Robertson to keep things locked down in defense. Nottingham Forest’s Agnus Gunn will be the man between the posts for the Scots. 

Scotland will kick off their tournament against Haiti, a solid opportunity for Steve Clarke and the Scots to get points on the board and confidence in their pocket. Breaking down Morocco’s rock-solid defense in Match 2 is going to be a difficult task for a Scotland side whose biggest strength isn’t scoring goals, but a draw there and a similar or better result against Brazil, who may be locked in to the Knockout round by the time Match 3 comes around, and the Scots are setting themselves up for a decent chance at finishing as one of the top 8 3rd place Group Stage teams, earning qualification to the Knockout round. 

Scotland's Lawrence Shankland in action with Curacao's Tyrese Noslin

Lee Smith

Haiti

Another incredible storyline in this Summer’s tournament is the one around team Haiti, who have qualified for their first World Cup since 1974 while playing all of their qualification matches away from home, proving just how strong-willed the hearts of The Grenadiers are, breaking a 52-year World Cup appearance drought in the process. 

Haiti’s qualification for the World Cup alone is a massive accomplishment for a country currently experiencing political unrest, but doing so while playing 500 miles away from home and not having the passionate support of Haitian fans behind their back is enough to galvanize an entire country behind The Red and The Blue’s trip to North America this Summer, where nearly 1 million Haitian residents currently call home and are ready to provide that support their team missed during the qualification stage. 

Haiti is led by French Head Coach Sébastien Migné, who has never actually set foot in the country due to the political tension and dangers associated with it. In an Interview with French Football Magazine, Migné spoke on the difficult situation, saying, "It's impossible because it's too dangerous…I usually live in the countries where I work, but I can't here. There are no more international flights landing there".

Despite all of that, Haiti put together a 3W-2D-1L record through the final 6 games of World Cup qualifying, beating Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua once again on November 18th to officially punch their ticket to the 2026 World Cup, where they’ll play their games in Boston, Philadelphia, and Atlanta, all of which are just a few hours drive from big Haitian populations in Florida, New York, and Massachusetts. 

Haiti is led by the skillful and passionate forward Duckens Nazon, the country’s all-time leading goal scorer. 24-year-old midfielder Ruben Providence will look to shine out on the wing for team Haiti on the world’s stage, while 38-year-old Johny Placide leads the team from between the posts. Danley Jean-Jacques, who plays for Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union and will be playing in Philly against Brazil during the World Cup, is ready to clean things up in the midfield for team Haiti in hopes of showing the world what Haitian football is capable of. 

Haiti’s first match of the tournament against Scotland will be an important one, and it is probably their best chance at collecting points during the group stage. Haiti will then travel to Philadelphia, where they’ll take on one of the tournament favorites, Brazil, before heading to Atlanta for their final group-stage game against Morocco. 

Let’s be honest here, Haiti is the least likely team to advance out of Group C and punch their ticket to the Knockout round, but if The Grenadiers have taught us anything, it’s to never underestimate what can happen when a team is led by a manager who has built unity within the group, has overcome serious adversity, and has strong, passionate supporters behind them. 

Saudi Arabia forward Abdulrahman Alobud (24), Haiti forward Duckens Nazon (9) and defender Saud Abdulhamid (12) battle for control of the ball during the second half of a group stage match of the 2025 Gold Cup at Snapdragon Stadium.

Denis Poroy

Group C Schedule

Group C is one of the few groups that promises to deliver entertaining matches throughout the schedule, featuring two of the tournament’s most exciting teams and two that are playing in their first World Cup in quite a long time. 

And while Brazil and Morocco are heavy favorites to advance out of Group C, Scotland and Haiti are sides full of heart and passion that will be pushing for points and a Cinderella story if either of the big dogs in the group slips up and fails to take care of business.  All the action kicks off in just under 2 weeks. 

Matchday 1: 

Matchday 2: 

Matchday 3: 

For more reading on the World Cup, check out our other previews:

Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D

Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H

Group I | Group J | Group K | Group L