FIFA World Cup Brazil v Scotland 2026: preview, predictions, team news, squads | WC 2026

The 2026 World Cup will have 13 times. You can use Al Jazeera Sport widget to find out exactly when your team is playing in your local time.

World Health Organization: Scotland v Brazil
What: World Cup 2026 Group C match
Where: Miami Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, USA
If: Wednesday at 18:00 (22:00 GMT)
How to follow: We will have all the build-up Al Jazeera Sports from 19:00 GMT before our live text commentary.

Brazil and Scotland meet for the fifth time at the World Cup on Wednesday, with both sides looking to secure a place in the knockout stages.

Brazil top Group C with four points and will advance to the round of 16 as group winners if they win or draw against Scotland and Morocco fail to beat Haiti.

Scotland are aiming to reach the knockout stage of a major international tournament for the first time and are guaranteed to finish at least third in their group.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Scotland v Brazil:

Neymar returns to Brazil

The 34-year-old is available for Brazil’s final group game but coach Carlo Ancelotti refused to say whether he would play a part in the clash at the Miami Stadium.

Neymar was there remembered dramatically national team despite not being part of Ancelotti’s plans ⁠for the Italian’s year in charge, but he remains under scrutiny for his fitness and form after years of injury problems and ⁠an elusive return to Santos.

The attacking midfielder last played for Brazil in 2023 when he suffered a serious knee injury against Uruguay in a World Cup qualifier.

After missing Group C matches against Morocco and Haiti, Neymar resumed full training last week. On Monday, he took part in his first tactical and team training under Ancelotti.

“Neymar is available,” Ancelotti told reporters on Tuesday. “He has been working this week and could be available for the match. We are very happy that he is back because obviously with his quality he can help the team.

“I knew him really well. He was working really hard trying to recover as quickly as possible.”

Scotland are aiming to make tournament history

After numerous failed attempts, Scotland are aiming to avoid the group stage of a major international tournament for the first time.

Steve Clarke’s men take the three points after that defeating Haiti in the opening group game. They will now finish at least third in their group but need a point to almost certainly guarantee qualification.

Otherwise, Scotland face a nervous wait to see if they will be among the top eight third-placed teams in the tournament, who will progress alongside the first and second-placed teams in the 12 groups.

“Scottish teams have never managed to get beyond the group stage, so if we could be the first team to do that then it would obviously be very special,” Clarke told reporters on Tuesday.

Scotland’s supporters, known as the ‘Tartan Army’, have been a highlight of this World Cup and won praise for their passion from locals in Boston, Massachusetts, where they played their first two group stage matches.

They now travel to Miami for a crucial group stage match against Brazil and Scotland captain Andrew Robertson will be hoping to give them something to celebrate.

“We want to give them something to shout about. We want to give them something to cheer about, and obviously also if we win the game, then we’ve made history,” he told reporters.

An unlikely rivalry

Scotland and Brazil may not seem like the most likely opponents, but Wednesday’s match will be the fifth time they have played at the World Cup.

They first met in 1974, playing to a goalless draw in West Germany.

Since then, Brazil have won every World Cup match, securing victories in 1982, 1990 and 1998.

Scotland have never beaten South American opposition at the World Cup, losing six games and drawing twice against teams from the continent.

Scotland vs Brazil prediction

Stats provider Opta has predicted Brazil have a 68.1 percent chance of winning in Miami on Wednesday.

Their supercomputer saw a 19 per cent chance of a draw and gave Scotland just a 12.9 per cent chance of winning.

Opta have calculated that Brazil are the eighth most likely team to win the tournament.

Live broadcast, start time

• Scotland: BBC One and BBC iPlayer (11pm BST)
• Brazil: Globo and SporTV (19:00 BST)
• United States: Universo, FOX, FOX One, Telemundo App, Telemundo Network, Peacock (6 p.m. ET)

What does Group C look like?

Brazil and Morocco have four points each, with the Seleção in first place thanks to better goal difference.

Scotland is third with three points, while Haiti is fourth. The Caribbean nation was subsequently eliminated losing to Brazil last week.

Form tutorial

(Last five games, last result first)

Scotland: LWWWL

Brazil: WDWWW

Scotland lost their final group game to Morocco but still have a chance of reaching the knockout stages after winning their opening game of the 2026 World Cup against Haiti.

Brazil are in fine form, with their only recent slip coming in a poor 1-1 draw against Morocco in their Group C opener in New Jersey.

Head to head

These sides have met 10 times and Scotland have never won.

The South American giants have won all but two of those matches, including the last meeting in March 2011.

The last time they played at the World Cup was in 1998, when Brazil won 2-1 in the group stage in Paris.

Team News: Scotland

Dinamo Zagreb defender Scott McKenna has returned to training after missing Scotland’s first two games with a calf injury.

Aaron Hickey missed the last match against Morocco and remains a doubt against Brazil.

Midfielder Lewis Ferguson is set to start despite being rested after training at the weekend.

Team news: Brazil

Ancelotti’s side will be without a key part of their attack in Miami with Rafinha ruled out with a hamstring injury.

The Barcelona winger came on in the 40th minute of Brazil’s last match, a 3-0 win over Haiti on Friday.

Neymar could return, although the Brazil manager has kept his cards close to his chest when discussing the return of one of the Seleção’s biggest stars.

Scotland’s predicted line-up:

Angus Gunn (goalkeeper); Andrew Robertson, Grant Hanley, Jack Hendry, Nathan Patterson; John McGinn, Scott McTominay, Lewis Ferguson, Ryan Christie, Ben Gannon-Doak; Che Adams

Brazil’s predicted lineup:

Alison Becker (goalkeeper); Douglas Santos, Gabriel Magalhas, Marquinhas, Danilo, Lucas Paqueta, Casemiro, Bruno Guimaraes, Vinicius Jr., Mateus Cunha, Ryan