Two of the longest waits in World Cup football ended together in qualifying. Haiti return to the World Cup for the first time since 1974, a 52-year gap. Scotland return for the first time since 1998, a 28-year gap. The Group C closer on opening Saturday is a meeting of two football nations finally back at the table.
Why: Scotland are the materially stronger side. Robertson at left-back, McTominay in midfield, McGinn driving forward, Adams up top, that is a Premier League / Serie A spine throughout. Haiti's squad is largely composed of diaspora players from MLS, French lower divisions and the Belgian top flight. The talent gap is real, but Scotland's away-from-home record is patchy, which is why the 1.80 price still leaves a 15%+ edge.
McTominay's Napoli season has been outstanding: 10 Serie A goals from midfield, often arriving late into the box. Haiti will sit deep, which is the exact match profile where McTominay's runs from the second line break the deadlock. Typical Anytime price 3.40, longer than expected for a player scoring at this clip.
McTominay is one of Serie A's most-carded midfielders this season with 9 yellows for Napoli. Scotland will be pressing Haiti's build-up high up the pitch, and McTominay is the cynical foul specialist when a Haiti player breaks the line. Anytime Card around 3.20.
The match is at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Built in 2002 as the home of the NFL's New England Patriots and the New England Revolution of MLS, capacity around 65,000 for soccer configuration.
Gillette Stadium will host seven matches at the 2026 World Cup, including group games and Round of 16. The Saturday late evening slot in the New England area will draw heavy Haitian-American interest from the Boston region's significant Haitian diaspora community (one of the largest in the United States).
Haiti's only previous World Cup appearance came in 1974 in West Germany. They lost all three group games (to Italy, Poland and Argentina), but the tournament produced an unforgettable moment: in the opening fixture against Italy, Emmanuel Sanon scored the equaliser that broke Dino Zoff's 1,142-minute international clean sheet, the longest in World Cup history at the time.
Fifty-two years of absence followed. Political instability, infrastructure problems, the 2010 earthquake, football took a back seat to existential challenges. The 2026 qualification, achieved through CONCACAF, is a generational achievement and the team is largely composed of diaspora players: stars from Belgium, France, Italy and the MLS who chose to represent Haiti rather than other nations.
Something cool: The Haitian squad for 2026 includes players from more than 12 different countries' professional leagues. Captain Johny Placide plays in Cyprus, top scorer Duckens Nazon plays in Vietnam, and the rest of the squad is scattered across France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, the UK and the US. It is one of the most internationally distributed squads at the tournament.
Scotland's last World Cup was 1998 in France. They lost the opener to Brazil (a 1-2 with the iconic Tom Boyd own goal as winning goal) and the second to Morocco (3-0). The third game was a 1-1 with Norway. Group-stage elimination, and the start of a 28-year wait.
Steve Clarke's appointment in 2019 began the slow rebuild. Euro 2020 saw them qualify for their first major tournament since 1998, Euro 2024 was another knockout-stage run, and the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign was the breakthrough: group winners ahead of Greece and Croatia.
Something cool: Scotland's 2026 World Cup group includes Brazil and Morocco. This is exactly the same opponents Scotland faced in their 1998 group. They lost both matches then. The fixture sequence in 2026 means Scotland play Haiti first (a winnable opener), then Brazil and Morocco, the same two opponents that ended their World Cup last time around.
Placide is the spiritual leader of this Haiti generation. 38 years old, captain for years, and finally getting to play at a World Cup after being part of every recent Haitian cycle. His club career has been in France (Le Havre, Reims) and now Cyprus (APOEL Nicosia).
He has been Haiti's first-choice keeper since 2010. Across those years his presence has been a constant amid managerial changes and roster turnover. The 2026 qualification is the payoff for a career of unsung consistency.
Coach Sebastien Migne kept him as the starter even with younger options pushing for minutes. His positioning, distribution and command of the box are exactly what a counter-attacking team needs from their last line.
Robertson is the highest-profile Scottish player of his generation. 92 caps, captain since 2018, club career through Queen's Park, Dundee United and Hull City before the 2017 move to Liverpool that changed his career. Premier League title (2019-20), Champions League (2018-19), and a partnership with Trent Alexander-Arnold that redefined the modern attacking full-back role.
He is the most-capped Scottish defender of all time and the only Scot to win a Champions League since 1967. The captain's armband suits his quiet authority: he is the leader Steve Clarke trusts to set the tone in the dressing room.
His World Cup is the moment Scottish football has been building toward for a decade. Whatever happens in the tournament, the imagery of Robertson leading Scotland out is the symbol of the modern Scotland football project.
Haiti qualified through CONCACAF with key wins including a 3-1 over Costa Rica (Nazon hat-trick) and a 2-0 over Honduras in the final qualifying window. Duckens Nazon scored 6 in qualifying, the team's leader. Friendly form has been patchy: 2 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses in their last 5 pre-tournament fixtures.
Scotland won UEFA Group A with 7 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss (22 points), confirming qualification in mid-October 2025. McTominay scored 4 in qualifying, McGinn added 3. Their friendlies in spring 2026 have been mixed: a 2-2 with Norway and a 1-0 over Liechtenstein the highlights.
Based on each side's most recent friendly. Final XIs confirm one hour before kick-off; this page will update.
| Date | Match | Venue | Preview |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Jun | Brazil vs Morocco | East Rutherford | Preview → |
| 13 Jun | Haiti vs Scotland | Foxborough | This page |
| 19 Jun | Brazil vs Haiti | Philadelphia | Preview → |
| 19 Jun | Scotland vs Morocco | Foxborough | Preview → |
| 24 Jun | Morocco vs Haiti | Atlanta | Preview → |
| 24 Jun | Scotland vs Brazil | Miami | Preview → |
All four teams, qualification scenarios and BetBot predictions: See full Group C overview →
Saturday 13 June 2026 at 21:00 ET (03:00 CEST Sunday 14 June). Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts. Closing match of opening Saturday's Group C action.
52 years. Their only previous appearance was 1974 in West Germany. 2026 is their first World Cup of the modern era.
28 years. Their last World Cup was 1998 in France. They have qualified for Euro 2020 and 2024 but had not made a World Cup since.
Goalkeeper Johny Placide, 38 years old, currently of APOEL Nicosia in Cyprus. He has been Haiti's first-choice keeper since 2010 and the captain for years.
Left-back Andy Robertson (Liverpool), 92 caps, captain since 2018. Premier League and Champions League winner.
Scotland's 2026 group contains Brazil and Morocco, exactly the two teams that beat them in their 1998 group. Scotland play Haiti first in 2026 before facing both 1998 opponents in fixtures 2 and 3.
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