Brazil vs Scotland World Cup 2026: Preview, prediction, team news, lineups

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

Who: Scotland vs Brazil
What: FIFA World Cup 2026 Group C match
Where: Miami Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States
When: Wednesday at 6pm (22:00 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 19:00 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.

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Brazil and Scotland will meet for the fifth time at a World Cup on Wednesday as both sides look to secure their place in the knockout stages.

Brazil sit top of Group C on four points and will reach the round of 32 as group winners if they win or draw against Scotland and Morocco fail to beat Haiti.

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

Here’s all you need to know before Scotland vs Brazil:

Neymar returns to training after missing Brazil’s opening two fixtures with an injury [Caean Couto/Reuters]

Neymar edges towards Brazil return

The 34-year-old is available for Brazil’s final group match, but coach Carlo Ancelotti declined to say if he would play a role in the Miami Stadium clash.

Neymar was dramatically recalled to the national squad despite not featuring in Ancelotti’s plans ⁠during the Italian’s year in charge, but he remains under scrutiny over his fitness and form after years of injury trouble and an ⁠underwhelming spell back at 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 the 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 worked this week and can be available for the match. We are very happy that he is back because, obviously, with his quality, he can help the team.

“I’ve really got to know him well. He has worked very seriously, trying to recover as quickly as possible.”

Scotland fans celebrate after the match against Haiti [Peter Cziborra/Reuters]

Scotland aim to make tournament history

After numerous failed attempts, Scotland are looking to escape the group stage at a major international tournament for the first time.

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

If not, Scotland face a nervous wait to see if they will be one of the eight best third-placed teams at the tournament, who will advance along with 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 that 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 have been praised for their passion by the locals in Boston, Massachusetts, where they played their first two group stage matches.

They now travel to Miami for the crunch group stage match with Brazil, and Scotland captain Andrew Robertson is hoping to give them something to celebrate.

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

An unlikely rivalry

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

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

Since then, Brazil have won all of their World Cup encounters, 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 predicted that Brazil has a 68.1 percent chance of winning in Miami on Wednesday.

Their supercomputer saw a 19 percent chance of a draw and gave Scotland only a 12.9 percent chance of victory.

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

Livestream, kickoff times

• Scotland: BBC One and BBC iPlayer (11pm British Summer Time)
• Brazil: Globo and SporTV (7pm Brasilia Standard Time)
• United States: Universo, FOX, FOX One, Telemundo App, Telemundo Network, Peacock (6pm Eastern Daylight Time)

How does Group C stand?

Brazil and Morocco both have four points with the Selecao sitting in top spot by virtue of a better goal difference.

Scotland are third on three points with Haiti fourth. The Caribbean nation were eliminated after losing to Brazil last week.

Form guide

(Last five games, latest result first)

Scotland: L-W-W-W-L

Brazil: W-D-W-W-W

Scotland lost their last group match to Morocco but still have the chance to reach the knockout stages after winning their first World Cup 2026 game against Haiti.

Brazil are on a good run of form with their only recent slip-up coming in a poor 1-1 performance against Morocco in their Group C opener in New Jersey.

Brazil’s Cesar Sampaio, second from right, is mobbed by his teammates after scoring the first goal of the 1998 World Cup against Scotland during their first-round World Cup match [File: Reuters]

Head-to-head

These sides have met 10 times, and Scotland have never come out on top.

The South American giants have won all but two of those matches, including their most recent meeting in March 2011.

They last played at the World Cup in 1998 when Brazil won 2-1 in a group game in Paris.

Team news: Scotland

Dinamo Zagreb defender Scott McKenna is back in 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 from training over the weekend.

Team news: Brazil

Ancelotti’s side will be without a key part of their attack in Miami as Raphinha will be sidelined due to a hamstring injury.

The Barcelona winger exited in the 40th minute of Brazil’s most recent match, a 3-0 victory over Haiti on Friday.

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

Scotland predicted lineup:

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 predicted lineup:

Alisson Becker (goalkeeper); Douglas Santos, Gabriel Magalhaes, Marquinhos, Danilo, Lucas Paqueta, Casemiro, Bruno Guimaraes, Vinicius Jr, Matheus Cunha, Rayan