Pre-match information
After a 1-0 victory over Haiti in the opening match, Scotland could not maintain their excitement when they lost to Morocco with a similar score in the second match of Group C of the 2026 World Cup.
Ismael Saibari's only goal in the second minute decided the match. Despite playing very hard in the second half, Scotland still could not find an equalizer.
Coach Steve Clarke believes that his team deserves at least one penalty, but is still satisfied when his players show their ability to compete with top teams in the world.
Although empty-handed against Morocco, the opportunity to make history is still wide open for Scotland. This team has never passed the group stage in all eight previous World Cup appearances.
A victory against Brazil will help Scotland definitely win a ticket to the next round. Even a draw may be enough to put them into the round of 32 as one of the third-placed teams with the best results.
However, that task will not be easy when the opponent is Brazil, one of the top candidates for the championship. History is also not on Scotland's side. In eight previous encounters, they have never beaten Brazil, with a record of six defeats and two draws. Three of them took place in the World Cup group stage from 1982 to 1998.
On the other side, Brazil just had a convincing performance when defeating Haiti 3-0 after a draw with Morocco in the opening match. Matheus Cunha scored a double, while Vinicius Junior also put his name on the scoreboard, helping Selecao win their first victory at this year's tournament.
That was also the 41st time in World Cup history that Brazil scored 3 or more goals in a match, more than any other team. Coach Carlo Ancelotti was particularly satisfied with the performance of his players and called it a "perfect" match.
Selecao currently holds a great advantage in the race to the top of Group C. Just need to achieve results equivalent to or better than Morocco in the last match, Selecao will finish the group stage in first place.
Despite being rated superior, Brazil still has reason to be cautious. Their last three defeats in the World Cup group stage all came in the last match, including the shock of losing to Cameroon 0-1 at the 2022 World Cup.
