Group C features five-time winners Brazil, Morocco, Scotland and Haiti
Brazil start against 2022 semi-finalists Morocco in New Jersey
Steve Clarke’s Scotland face Haiti in the early hours of Sunday morning
The most successful nation in World Cup history make their 2026 tournament debut on Saturday night when Brazil take on Morocco.
That clash in New Jersey will be followed by the other opening game in Group C as section underdogs Haiti and Scotland bid to get their first points on the board in Foxborough before tackling the group's big guns.
The first match could go a long way to deciding the winner of the group as Brazil are ranked sixth in the Fifa world rankings with Morocco just two places behind in eighth, while Scotland are 43rd and Haiti are 83rd.
Best Bets:
Brazil to win and both teams to score @ 27/10
Brazil vs Morocco (Saturday, 11pm)
While Brazil have a fantastic football pedigree and an unrivalled record at World Cup finals, their recent efforts in the biggest international tournament of them all have been disappointing.
The five-time champions have not got past the quarter-finals since their most recent success in 2002, and finished only fourth when they hosted the 2014 finals.
The Selecao's qualifying performance this time around left plenty to be desired, too, as they finished only sixth in the South American final group, but they still have the talent in their squad to come alive when it matters most and have won their last three friendly matches against Croatia, Panama and Egypt.
Morocco were the dark horses at the last finals in Qatar in 2022 as they went on a fantastic run to the semi-finals. They should be confident of getting out of the group even if they can't upset the Samba Stars in their opening match.
The Atlas Lions proved a class apart in their qualifying group, winning all eight games and scoring 22 goals while conceding only two.
The standard of opposition climbs steeply for their first match, staged at this year's World Cup final venue, but Morocco are unbeaten since last August and can give Brazil a thorough workout. The South American side are taken to edge a close contest 2-1.
Score prediction: Brazil 2-1 Morocco
The latest Brazil vs Morocco odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Haiti vs Scotland (Sunday, 2am)
Haiti will be targeting their first ever World Cup finals point in their opening match against Scotland but the Caribbean nation could come up short.
Their only previous appearance at the finals in 1974 saw them lose their three group games 3-1, 7-0 and 4-1, but Scotland are more appealing opponents than their other two group rivals this time and they will be going all out to impress.
Haiti have shown some decent warm-up form, beating fellow finalists New Zealand 4-0 before losing 2-1 to Peru, but that first World Cup point could prove beyond them.
Scotland are back at the finals for the first time since 1998 and have remarkably been drawn against Brazil for the third successive tournament, while they also faced Morocco on their last appearance 28 years ago.
Haiti are new opponents for them, however, and after coming through a qualifying group containing Denmark and Greece, they should be up to the task of securing their first finals victory since they beat Sweden in 1990.
The Scots have scored four goals in successive friendly outings against Curacao and Bolivia, and while the first win was made easier when Curacao had a man sent off in the first half, the latest success was a real confidence-booster.
A wide-margin win might be asking too much but a 2-0 Scotland success should be within their grasp.
Score prediction: Haiti 0-2 Scotland
The latest Haiti vs Scotland odds are available on LiveScore Bet
