Five-time champion Brazil faces African powerhouse Morocco in Group C, which also includes Scotland and Haiti — two teams returning to the World Cup after long absences.
All matches will be played in the United States, with Brazil playing in New York, Philadelphia and Miami. Scotland will face both Haiti and Morocco in Boston, while Haiti and Morocco will play each other in Atlanta.
Brazil
Brazil, the most successful nation in World Cup history, last won the title in 2002.
Since then it has been eliminated in the quarterfinal stage at every tournament except in 2014, when as host it reached the final four, but suffered a humiliating 7-1 loss to Germany.
Croatia sent the Brazilians home in a penalty shootout four years ago in Qatar.
This time Brazil will be led by Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior and Barcelona’s Raphinha. Madrid forward Rodrygo has been ruled out of the World Cup because of a knee injury.
The team was underperforming in World Cup qualifiers, including stinging losses to archrival Argentina, when the Brazilian soccer confederation recruited veteran coach Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid. Though he guided the team across the finish line, Brazil finished only fifth in South American qualifying.
Ancelotti has won five Champions League titles but at the World Cup his only coaching experience was as an assistant manager for Italy under Arrigo Sacchi during the 1994 tournament in the United States, when the Italians lost the final to Brazil.
Morocco
Morocco finished fourth at the last World Cup — the best result ever by an African team. It beat Spain in the round of 16 and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the quarterfinals before falling to eventual runner-up France in the last four.
The team is entering the World Cup fresh off a chaotic end to the Africa Cup of Nations, which it hosted in December and January. Morocco lost the final to Senegal but the result was overturned in March by the Confederation of African Football, which ruled that Senegal forfeited the final by leaving the field of play without the referee’s authorization.
Coach Walid Regragui quit after the final, and Morocco will have a new man in charge at the World Cup: Mohamed Ouahbi, who led Morocco’s under-20 team to the Youth World Cup title.
Morocco will co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.
Haiti
The Caribbean country is set to make its second World Cup appearance, and first since 1974, after winning its CONCACAF qualifying group.
In 1974, Haiti was eliminated after three consecutive losses against Italy, Poland and Argentina. The team is likely to struggle against its group-stage opponents this time around as well.
Coached by Frenchman Sebastien Migne, Haiti currently sits in 83rd place in FIFA’s world rankings, ahead of only New Zealand among the 48 teams that have qualified for the World Cup.
The team will be led by 32-year-old Duckens Nazon, the joint-top scorer in CONCACAF qualifying with six goals, including a hat-trick while coming off the bench in a 3-3 draw at Costa Rica.
Scotland
Scotland will be playing in its first World Cup since 1998 thanks to a late win over Denmark in its final qualifier last year.
The team will be led by Scott McTominay, who scored one of the goals in the dramatic 4-2 win over Denmark that sealed Scotland’s return.
Coach Steve Clarke has been in charge since 2019 and will be the first man to lead the nation at three major tournaments. Scotland was eliminated in the group stage at the 2020 and 2024 European Championships.
It has never made it past the group stage in its eight previous World Cup appearances. It also faced Brazil in 1998, being narrowly beaten 2-1 by the then defending champion.
___
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
