Group C fixtures
Sat 13 Jun23:00 BST
MetLife Stadium, New York/New Jersey
Sat 20 Jun02:00 BST
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Wed 24 Jun23:00 BST
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
Key players to watch
Vinícius Júnior
FW · Real Madrid
The centerpiece of Ancelotti's project and a 2024 Ballon d'Or runner-up; scored the goal that sealed qualification. Brazil's biggest match-winner.
Top NPxG in qualifying
Raphinha
FW · Barcelona
Top scorer in qualifying (5, including three penalties) and the set-piece focal point after a sensational club season. Leads for shots and expected assists.
5 qualifying goals · penalties
Bruno Guimarães
MF · Newcastle
Brazil's leading midfielder for minutes in qualifying; dictates from deep and takes corners. The engine of the side.
Corner taker · chance creator
Casemiro
MF · Manchester United · C
Co-captain and defensive-midfield anchor enjoying a late-career renaissance; the leadership behind Ancelotti's rebuild.
Screening anchor
Marquinhos
CB · PSG · C
Co-captain and the experienced organiser of the back line, fresh off captaining PSG to the Champions League. Approaching 100 caps.
Defensive leader
Neymar
FW · Santos
Brazil's record scorer (79) returns for a likely fourth and final World Cup; a divisive pick given fitness, but topped the squad for assists in his qualifying minutes.
Record scorer · divisive pick
Goals & output
Spoiled for choice: Raphinha (top qualifying scorer) and Vinícius (most non-penalty xG) lead, with Matheus Cunha, Gabriel Martinelli, 19-year-old Endrick and Neymar all options. The concern is conversion — Brazil created plenty in qualifying but were wasteful at times.
Set-piece duties
Penalties
Raphinha (also Paquetá)
Raphinha is the primary penalty taker (three converted in qualifying) and main free-kick threat, with Lucas Paquetá an alternate from the spot. Bruno Guimarães takes the bulk of corners. With Marquinhos and the forwards attacking deliveries, set pieces add to an already deep threat.
Discipline read
▲Not a dirty side, but Casemiro and Bruno Guimarães can both pick up bookings policing midfield, and Vinícius runs hot with officials at times. Per-player international card counts aren't uniformly published; the read is around-average team bookings.
Recent form
A difficult CONMEBOL campaign (third for goals scored, mid-table defensively) improved after Ancelotti — the first non-Brazilian to coach them at a World Cup — took over in May 2025. Widely called one of the least-fancied Brazil squads in memory, yet still loaded. No World Cup title since 1994 (in the USA), with the last four ending in the 2014 semi-final humiliation and quarter-final exits in 2018 and 2022.
Head-to-head history
v Morocco (13 Jun)
Morocco won the last meeting
Morocco beat Brazil 2-1 in a 2023 friendly in Tangier — their first-ever win over the Seleção. Proof the Atlas Lions can trouble them, in a heavyweight opener at MetLife.
v Haiti (20 Jun)
Heavily one-sided
Rare meetings and a vast gulf — Brazil hammered Haiti 6-0 in a 2004 friendly. Expected to be the most lopsided game in the group.
v Scotland (24 Jun)
5th World Cup meeting; Brazil unbeaten
Brazil have never lost to Scotland at a World Cup (three wins and the 1974 game drawn 0-0). A storied matchup that may decide whether Brazil top the group in Miami.
Underdog & betting read
The verdict
Heavy favourites to win Group C and the obvious bet to top it, though backing them deep is less certain given underwhelming recent World Cups and a patchy qualifying. Value sits more in Vinícius/Raphinha scorer markets and Brazil to win the group than in short outright prices.