Scotland's World Cup opponents: Brazil's £5m carrot, Morocco and ex-Rangers man, Haiti's blast from SPFL past

Steve Clarke’s men are in Group C of the competition and will face familiar foes in Brazil and Morocco, as well as Haiti.

Scotland’s first match will be against the Haitians in either Boston or New York on Saturday, June 13, before facing Morocco on Friday, June 19 in either Philadelphia or Boston and then closing against Brazil on Wednesday, June 24 in either Miami or Atlanta.

The full schedule, including kick-off times, will be confirmed by FIFA on Saturday evening.

We take a look at what lies in wait for Scotland ...

Brazil

Yep, them again. Scotland have faced Brazil on four previous occasions at the World Cup - 1974, 1982, 1990 and 1998. Across ten meetings in total in all competitions, the Scots have never won. A goalless draw at the 1974 World Cup and a 1-1 friendly in 1966 are the best we have done against them.

Five-times winners of the World Cup, Brazil remain one of the most glamourous teams in the world. However, the current crop of players would not be described as a vintage Selecao. They finished fifth in the South American qualification standings behind Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia and Uruguay, losing six times across 18 matches.

Their current head coach is the great Carlo Ancelotti. The 66-year-old took over from Dorival Júnior back in May and will receive a bonus of nearly £5 million if he can lead Brazil to World Cup glory. Not that he needs the money, but that’s a big carrot. The Brazilians haven’t won the tournament since 2002 and want to end that wait.

PSG defender Marquinhos is their captain. Arsenal’s monstrous centre-half Gabriel is his partner in crime. Newcastle skipper Bruno Guimaraes and experienced Man Utd player Casemiro patrol the midfield. Ahead of them, we’re talking Real Madrid’s Vini Jnr and Rodrygo and Spurs’ Richarlison. Neymar is still hanging about (remember him?). They have a forward line Scotland can only dream of.

Brazil will still be the ones to beat in this group.

Morocco

Bah! The pot two team that Scotland did not want to get - and not because they were the last nation we faced at the World Cup.

When the Scots lost 3-0 to Morocco in 1998, they were a decent side. Now they are one of the best in the world. They reached the semi-finals at the 2022 edition of the tournament, narrowly losing to France. Walid Regragui remains the manager over their golden generation.

In eight qualifying matches, they won all of them, scoring 22 goals and conceding just two. They are one of the favourites to win the Africa Cup of Nations this winter. In this correspondent’s opinion, they are the strongest team from that continent.

Just look at their squad. The men to watch are captain Achram Hakimi, Sofyan Amrabat, Azzedine Ounahi, Youssef En-Nesyri and Brahim Díaz. Don’t forget about Hamza Igamane, the former Rangers striker who is shining at Lille. Threats everywhere.

This is not an easy assignment for Scotland. The second game of the group will be fascinating.

Haiti

The team Scotland simply have to beat. There really can be no debate. They are one of the weakest teams in the tournament and balance out Brazil and Morocco.

Fair play to Sebastian Migne’s men, they did so well to progress past Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua to qualify - especially they cannot play at home in Port-au-Prince due to political unrest and security in the country.

Les Grenadiers have featured at the World Cup once before in 1974, losing 3-1 to Italy, 7-0 to Poland and 4-1 to Argentina. But their long wait is now over.

One of their players might - might - ring a bell. Remember the wonderfully-named Duckens Nazon? Okay, I’m pushing you here. Capped 74 times and scoring an impressive 44 goals, the 31-year-old Esteghlal striker spent part of 2019 on loan at ... St Mirren. He scored two goals during his time in Paisley.

His partner in crime Frantzdy Pierrot, who is at AEK Athens, is a handy hitman, while midfielder Jean‐Ricner Bellegarde of Wolves recently pledged his allegiance to Haiti. Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor is considering doing the same. Scotland would prefer it if he didn’t.

Nevertheless, the Haitians represent Scotland’s best chance of a victory at the World Cup. An opener that Clarke’s men will be desperate to seize upon. Haiti struggled in last summer’s Gold Cup, finishing bottom of their group. They have improved since then and their qualification has boosted their struggling nation.