Five-time champions Brazil will face African powerhouse Morocco in Group C, which also includes Scotland. haiti — 2 teams return world cup It’s been a while.
All games will be played in the United States, with Brazil playing in New York, Philadelphia and Miami. Scotland will play both Haiti and Morocco in Boston, while Haiti and Morocco will play in Atlanta.
Brazil
Brazil, the most successful nation in World Cup history, last won the title in 2002.
Since then, they have advanced to the final four as hosts, but have lost in the quarter-finals in every tournament except for 2014, when they suffered a humiliating 7-1 loss to Germany.
Croatia sent the Brazilian home in a penalty shootout in Qatar four years ago.
This time, the Brazilian national team will be led by Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior and Barcelona’s Rafinha. Madrid forward Rodrygo has been ruled out of the World Cup due to a knee injury.
When the Brazilian Football Federation brought in a veteran coach, the team’s performance was poor, including a crushing loss to arch-rival Argentina in the World Cup qualifiers. carlo ancelotti From Real Madrid. Although he led his team to the finish line, Brazil finished fifth in the South American qualifying round.
Ancelotti has won the Champions League five times, but his only World Cup coaching experience came in 1994 when he was assistant manager of Italy under Arrigo Sacchi in the United States, where Italy lost to Brazil in the final.
Morocco
Morocco finished fourth in the last World Cup, the best result ever for an African team. They defeated Spain in the round of 16 and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the quarterfinals, but lost in the last four to eventual runners-up France.
The team enters the World Cup on the heels of a chaotic African Cup of Nations in December and January. Morocco lost to Senegal in the final However, this result was overturned by the Confederation of African Football in March. Senegal was ruled out of the final. Leaving the field without permission from the referee.
Coach Walid Reglagui will step down after the final and Morocco will have a new man in charge of the World Cup. Mohamed Ouabi led Morocco’s U-20 team to the Youth World Cup title.
Morocco will co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.
haiti
The Caribbean nation is looking to make its second World Cup appearance, the first being in 1974 when they made it through the CONCACAF qualifying group.
In 1974, Haiti lost three games in a row to Italy, Poland, and Argentina. It looks like they will have a tough time against their opponents in the group stage this time as well.
Haiti, coached by Frenchman Sébastien Migne, currently sits 83rd in the FIFA world rankings, making them the only team of the 48 to qualify for the World Cup ahead of New Zealand.
The team is led by 32-year-old Dakens Nazon. He scored six goals in the CONCACAF qualifiers and scored a hat trick while coming on as a substitute in the 3-3 draw against Costa Rica, putting him at the top of the scoring list.
Scotland
Scotland will be playing in the World Cup for the first time since 1998. Victory against Denmark in the final stages In last year’s final qualifying round.
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 comeback.
Coach Steve Clark has been in charge since 2019 and will be the first person to lead the nation in three major tournaments. Scotland were eliminated in the group stages of the 2020 and 2024 European Championships.
In their past eight World Cup appearances, they have never made it past the group stage. They played against Brazil in 1998, but lost 2-1 to the defending champions at the time.
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