Scotland
This is a 9th FIFA World Cup Appearance for Scotland and they are yet to make it out of the group stages, they now however find themselves in with a great chance of making the last 32, that could even mean a small defeat would be enough.
Boston was a sea of Tartan Blue 10 days ago when they made a first world cup appearance for 28 years when they faced Haiti, it was a night of celebration as John McGinn scored the only goal of the game to give Scotland a 1-0 win over Haiti.
They were once again in Boston for Matchday 2 when they faced world no 5 ranked Morocco, but this time they were on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline, Ismael Saibari scored an early goal that they were unable to recover from.
With third place all but guaranteed they will be hoping to finish in the top 8 3rd place finishers, currently they are well placed and it has been suggested that even a 2 goal defeat here would leave them 72% chance of qualifying.
Injuries & Team News
The Appointment of Carlo Ancelotti was expected to bring the good times back to Brazilian football, but it hasn’t quite worked out that way as yet. Results in pre world cup matches were not great and they were outplayed for long periods of the Morocco game.
Steve Clarke had some issues over the weekend with Scott McKenna struggling with a calf injury, Lewis Ferguson has been suffering with fatigue and Aaron Hickey missing parts of training. Of the 3 it is Ferguson who is most likely to figure against Brazil.
Clarke isn’t popular with the “Tartan Army” due to his pragmatic approach, he changed that for the Haiti game but reverted back to a flexible 3-4-2-1 that changes to a 4-4-1-1 without the ball against Morocco, it is expected he will once again put the handbrake on.
Form
| Last Match | Last 6 Matches |
|---|---|
| 0-1 vs Morocco | L L W W W L |
Predicted Line-Up
Scotland possible starting lineup:
Gunn; Patterson, Hendry, Hanley, Robertson, Tierney; Christie, Ferguson; McTominay, McGinn; Adams
Brazil
The appointment of Carlo Ancelotti was meant to bring the good times back to Brazilian football, but as yet that has failed to materialize. They results have been very inconsistent since the Italians reign began back in 2025.
They began the World Cup campaign against 2022 Semi-Finalists Morocco in the opening game and for long periods they were outplayed, they fell behind early on but drew level through a Vinicius Jr penalty before half time to pick up a 1-1 draw.
It was a little more straight-forward on Matchday 2 when they faced minnows Haiti and as expected they overpowered them in the first half heading to the interval with a 3-0 lead thanks to a brace from Matheus Cunha and another Vinicius strike, they failed to add to their tally in the seond half and ran out 3-0 winners.
Injuries & Team News
Barcelona’s Raphinha has been ruled out of the Scotland match with a hamstring injury, that could mean a start for 19 year old Rayan. The Bournemouth man has enjoyed a superb first season in the English Premier League.
Better news for The Selecao is the news that record goal scorer Neymar is fit and available for selection although it is very unlikely he will start given the form of Matheus Cunha & Vini Jnr.
Allison will again start in goal behind a defence expected to be unchanged including Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhaes and Douglas Santos.
Form
| Last Match | Last 6 Matches |
|---|---|
| 3-0 vs Haiti | L W W W D W |
L
Predicted Line-Up
Brazil possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Douglas Santos; Guimaraes, Casemiro; Rayan, Paqueta, Vinicius Jr; Cunha
Betting Odds
| Team | Odds | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland Win | 10/1 – (11.0) | Grand Ivy |
| Draw | 9/2 – (5.50) | Dream Vegas |
| Brazil Win | 1/3 – (1.30) | 247Bet |
Prediction
Scotland 0-1 Brazil
Scotland are in a strange position knowing that a small defeat would be enough to qualify for the last 32, meanwhile Brazil still have hopes of topping the group. It could be tight but a moment of brilliance could win it for Brazil.