Overview
5 days after the 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.
We have proven that Scotland can compete with teams in the world's top 10" - the 62-year-old strategist shared.
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 of the battle line, 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 have 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.
Brazil 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.
Therefore, Selecao will certainly not be subjective against a Scotland that is eager to make a historic milestone at the 2026 World Cup.
Personnel situation
Scotland receives positive personnel signals before the confrontation with Brazil. The trio Scott McKenna, Aaron Hickey and Lewis Ferguson were absent from last weekend's training sessions due to various fitness issues, but are likely to recover in time to play.
On the Brazilian side, Ancelotti will not have the service of Raphinha. The Barcelona star suffered a hamstring injury in the victory over Haiti and has been removed from the squad list.
Ancelotti also confirmed that Neymar has fully recovered and is ready to play. However, the striker with the most goals in Brazil's history is likely to only start from the bench.
Expected lineup:
Gunn, Patterson, Hendry, Hanley, Robertson, Tierney, Christie, Ferguson, McTominay, McGinn, Adams.
Alisson, Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Douglas Santos, Guimaraes, Casemiro, Rayan, Paqueta, Vinicius Jr, Cunha.
The match between Scotland and Brazil takes place at 5:00 am on June 25 (Vietnam time).
