World Cup Group C tactical guide: Brazil’s attacking riches, Scotland’s set pieces, and can Morocco go deep again?

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Welcome to The Athletic’s 2026 World Cup tactical group guides, walking you through the key battles on the pitch, the players to look out for, and the fun facts to impress your friends ahead of the tournament.

In this article, we will break down Group C, containing Brazil, Haiti, Morocco and Scotland.

Five-times world champions Brazil — they have won more World Cups than any other country — are clear favorites to win the group under the guidance of Carlo Ancelotti. Morocco will be hoping to relive the dream of the 2022 edition, when they finished fourth and became the first Arab and African nation to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup.

Meanwhile, Scotland are back after a 28-years absence, and hoping to make it past the group stage for the first time in their history. As for Haiti, this is only their second appearance at the World Cup, with their adventure in 1974 ending in three losses.

Will Haiti win their first point at the tournament? How will Morocco look under their new head coach? Can Brazil emulate the glory of 1994 in the United States?

Can Carlo Ancelotti guide Brazil to their first World Cup win for 24 years? (Mauro Pimentel / AFP via Getty Images)

The games

Matchday one

• Saturday, June 13: Brazil vs Morocco (6pm ET, 3pm PT, 11pm BST) — MetLife Stadium, New York City
• Saturday, June 13: Haiti vs Scotland (9pm ET, 6pm PT, 2am BST) — Gillette Stadium, Boston

Matchday two

• Friday, June 19: Scotland vs Morocco (6pm ET, 3pm PT, 11pm BST) — Gillette Stadium, Boston
• Friday, June 19: Brazil vs Haiti (8:30pm ET, 5:30pm PT, 1:30am BST) — Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

Matchday three

• Wednesday, June 24: Scotland vs Brazil (6pm ET, 3pm PT, 11pm BST) — Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
• Wednesday, June 24: Morocco vs Haiti (6pm ET, 3pm PT, 11pm BST) — Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta

Key tactical approaches

If there’s a coach who has proved he can get the best out of world-class individuals in recent years, it’s Carlo Ancelotti.

This star-studded Brazil team is looking to improve on their two quarter-finals exits in 2018 and 2022, with a front line composed of Vinicius Junior, Raphinha, Matheus Cunha and Gabriel Martinelli.

The flexibility of Brazil’s forwards feeds into the team’s fluid approach in attack, with their front line seamlessly interchanging positions. Vinicius Jr has mainly been playing as a  centre-forward, but he has license to move towards the left wing, which is complemented by his teammates attacking the vacant space.

In possession, Brazil attack in a dynamic 3-2-4-1 shape, with their right-back pushing forward, while Bruno Guimaraes, Casemiro and the dropping Cunha are responsible for progressing the ball up the pitch.

The diversity of Brazil’s forwards means they can attack the opponent through central passing combinations, the wide areas or on the transition.

There has been a focus on rotations in the wide areas in Brazil’s matches under Ancelotti, which plays to the strengths of the forwards.

In this example, from the 1-0 victory against Paraguay in June 2025, right-back, Vanderson, pushes forward as Raphinha roams inside the pitch.

The space vacated down the right wing is attacked by Cunha, who forces Mathias Villasanti deeper, creating a bigger area for Guimaraes to receive the ball into.

Villasanti is momentarily caught between defending Guimaraes and marking Cunha, who is free because Raphinha is occupying Paraguay’s left-back, Junior Alonso.

The Barcelona forward makes things harder for Alonso by dropping deeper as Guimaraes finds Cunha’s run in the opposite direction.

Out of possession, Ancelotti’s side press high out of a 4-4-2 shape, with an emphasis on trying to win the ball up the pitch.

Another thing to keep an eye on is Casemiro’s threat from set pieces. This season, Casemiro has scored eight goals from set pieces with Manchester United in the Premier League — the highest tally by any player in Europe’s top five leagues.

Brazil’s first match in this World Cup will be against Morocco, who just replaced their coach Walid Regragui with Mohamed Ouahbi in March. Ouahbi led Morocco’s U-20 side to their first World Cup title last year.

At the time of writing, Morocco have only played four games under Ouahbi, which is a small sample size to analyse. However, there has been minimal changes compared to how Morocco played under Regragui.

The focus on combinations in the wide area is still present, but the team’s shape on the ball has changed.

Previously, it was a 4-3-3, where the full-back, midfielder and winger combined to attack the flanks, as seen in this example from the 2-0 victory against Cameroon in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Under Ouahbi, though, Morocco attack in a 3-2-4-1 shape, with right-back Achraf Hakimi in an advanced role either down the wing or in the half-space.

Morocco’s first goal in the 2-1 victory against Paraguay in March is a prime example of how Ouahbi’s side wants to attack. The long passing move which started from a short goal kick by Yassine Bounou ended in an overlapping Hakimi finding Bilal El Khannouss’ run into the penalty area.

Defensive organization was the cornerstone of Morocco’s run to the semi-finals in the last World Cup, and their compactness without the ball is still a strength under their new head coach.

It will be interesting to see how Scotland will shape up in their games against Haiti, Morocco and Brazil. Steve Clarke has moved to a back-four system after Scotland’s uninspired performances in Euro 2024, and used a 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 shape in the World Cup qualifiers.

However, the friendly against Ivory Coast in March featured a return to the back-five formation. “If we need to go with a four, we will go with a four. If we need to play a back five, we will go with a five. That will be decided depending on the nature of the opposition,” said Scotland’s head coach.

Regardless of the system, Scotland focus on putting crosses into the penalty area and are dependent on their attacking set pieces.

During the UEFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers, five of Scotland’s 13 goals came from dead-ball situations — the second-highest rate after Czech Republic (45 per cent) among teams who scored at least 10 goals.

Clarke’s side are able to build the attack — with Scott McTominay roaming to support ball progression in the wide areas — or go direct and fight for second balls.

Yet, it won’t be a surprise if Scotland defend in a mid-block against Brazil and Morocco, and capitalise on transitional situations or set pieces. They had the lowest share of possession in the World Cup qualifiers (46 per cent) among European teams who qualified for the finals.

The last team in the group is one that thrives on transitions and vertical football. Sebastien Migne’s Haiti have the players to carry the ball up the pitch, and are happy to attack the spaces behind the opponent’s defense with long passes.

They play in a 4-2-3-1 with Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Jean-Ricner Bellegarde behind the centre-forward, or a 4-4-2 with two of Duckens Nazon, Frantzdy Pierrot and Wilson Isidor leading the line.

Haiti’s style of play is visible in how fast they progress the ball up the pitch (Direct speed) and their average number of passes per sequence. They like to pass the ball around in the build-up phase, but are vertical with their passes and dribbles once they go forward.

Standout players

You can take your pick from the multitude of options in Brazil’s front line.

Cunha plays a vital role in progressing the attack and creating for his teammates, Raphinha’s off-ball runs stand out, while Igor Thiago diversifies Ancelotti’s options in the centre-forward role. Even Neymar has been recalled, and will hope to offer glimpses of the magic that has seen him light up previous World Cups — most likely from the bench.

The player who has been leading the line for Brazil, though, is Vinicius Jr. The Real Madrid forward starts in a central role, but roams around to combine with his teammates and drag defenders out of position.

Vinicius Jr often switches positions with Brazil’s left-winger to attack from his favorite area down the wing. His ability in one-versus-one situations is a headache for any team facing Brazil.

This season, he has attempted 7.7 take-ons per 90, which is the seventh-highest rate among players who at least played 900 minutes and made 75 take-ons in Europe’s top five leagues.

After Brahim Diaz’s failed panenka penalty in the final of the 2025 AFCON, he was under the spotlight for all the negative reasons as Morocco lost 1-0 to Senegal on their home turf — the Confederation of African Football (CAF) later awarded the title to Morocco, but Senegal have filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and are waiting on a decision.

Yet, before that match Brahim was the player of the tournament, guiding Morocco to the final with his five goals and creativity down the right wing. Under Ouahbi, he operates in a narrower position in the right half-space, which suits his playing profile.

Scotland’s McTominay is another one to watch out for. His late runs from midfield makes him a threat inside the opponents’ penalty area, and complements Scotland’s focus on putting crosses into the box. Scotland’s defeat of Denmark in the playoff featured a spectacular overhead kick from the Napoli player.

Expect acrobatics from McTominay in this summer’s tournament (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

McTominay’s SkillCorner profile, which looks at his off-ball run-types per 30 minutes in possession, compared with midfielders across Europe’s top seven leagues, shows his eagerness to attack crosses and his clever movement inside the penalty area (Cross receiver: 93 out of 99).

For Haiti, it’s Wolves’ Bellegarde, who was born in France and played for their youth sides, but switched allegiances and made his debut last September against Honduras.

Bellegarde is a key link between the midfield and attack, while his ball-carrying ability thrives in Haiti’s offensive transitions.

Things to look out for

Brazil’s fluidity in offense creates spaces to attack in the opponent’s defense, which is complemented by Guimaraes’ line-splitting passes and the forwards’ runs behind the defense.

In this example, from the 5-0 victory against South Korea in October, Vinicius Jr switches positions with Rodrygo, and with the opponent’s defense not having a reference to mark, Estevao makes a run behind them, which is found by Guimaraes.

Whether Morocco press Ancelotti’s side or not will be a key question when the sides face at the MetLife Stadium on June 13. In their March friendly against Ecuador, Morocco’s high press was on display.

Here, Ouahbi’s side are pressing out of their 4-2-3-1 shape, with Brahim deeper to track Ecuador’s left-back, Piero Hincapie, while Ismael Saibari is pressing the goalkeeper and blocking the passing lane into the left centre-back, Willian Pacho, and Azzedine Ounahi ready to press the other centre-back.

When Ounahi moves up, Neil El Aynaoui presses Moises Caicedo, Mohamed Hrimat is in position to defend Gonzalo Plata, and Brahim is between Pedro Vite and Hincapie to cover both options depending how Ecuador build their attack.

A pass to Pacho triggers the press: Brahim moves to the left centre-back, Ounahi and El Aynaoui shift markers, and Hakimi pounces on Hincapie, winning the ball in an advanced position.

There’s history to be made for Scotland. In their previous eight appearances at the tournament, they have never reached the knockout stages, only winning four World Cup matches.

There’s a possibility to break that record this time round, with eight third-place teams reaching the round of 32.

If they are successful, it will also be their first ever knockout match in a major competition, after four group-stage exits in the European Championship.

Meanwhile, any point for Haiti will fill the streets of its capital, Port-au-Prince, with celebrations. It’s more likely to come through goals than a clean sheet, though.

Haiti’s centre-forward, Nazon, is the team’s all-time top scorer with 44 goals at the time of writing, Pierrot isn’t far behind him with 34, and Sunderland’s Isidor — who committed to representing Haiti this March — completes the set.