07/06/2026

theSun on Sunday JUNE 7, 2026

2026 WORLD CUP

SPORTS 12

GROUP C Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti G ROUP C showcases some of the most tactically interesting match-ups of the opening phase of the World Cup. Brazil are favorites, but by a hair.

Morocco head to World Cup with big ambitions MOROCCO produced a historic best per formance for an African and Arab nation at

teams as they head to the United States. They might not face each other at the World Cup, although curiously they will be based just a short distance apart in New Jersey. But Ouahbi and his team – led by Paris Saint-Germain’s brilliant right-back Achraf Hakimi, the reigning African player of the year – must try to focus solely on the chal lenge in store at the World Cup. They begin with a mouth-watering clash against Brazil, before also facing Scotland and Haiti in the group phase. “The Atlas Lions have a real and serious chance at this World Cup. The current team is more experienced and more talented than four years ago,” insists Oussama Berraoui, a Moroccan football pundit. Morocco’s transformation into a serious player on the international stage has been achieved thanks to two main pillars. They have a successful youth programme at the Mohammed VI academy, the national training centre just outside the capital Rabat. And they have tapped into the rich seam of talented players born in Europe with Moroccan heritage. Hakimi is one of them. Diaz is another, and there are also Noussair Mazraoui, Bilal El Khannouss and Neil El Aynaoui. The latest is Ayoub Bouaddi, the Lille midfielder and France U-21 captain who has just chosen to represent his parents’ country at senior level. “When you look at the image Morocco has around the world and the players we have, we can dream,” Ouahbi, the new coach, said in an interview with Moroccan channel Arryadia .

Walid Regragui was the mastermind of Morocco’s run in Qatar, but he left the coaching job in March, six weeks after his side lost a chaotic Africa Cup of Nations final to Senegal. With home advantage, Morocco were favourites to win that competition but appeared to blow it when Brahim Diaz – their outstanding performer – failed to score a penalty deep in injury time in the final in Rabat. Senegal were so furious at the decision to give the spot-kick that most of their players stormed off the pitch. They eventually came back on, an unset tled Diaz had his kick saved, and Morocco lost 1-0 in extra-time. Having faced criticism from a demand ing public and media, Regragui departed to be replaced by Mohamed Ouahbi. Born and raised in Brussels, Ouahbi was promoted to the top coaching role after overseeing Morocco’s triumph at the U-20 World Cup last October. Days after his appointment, the Confederation of African Football stripped Senegal of the Afcon crown as a punish ment for their walk-off

They’ve struggled putting together goals in the qualifying phase, and their squad is not as star studded as it once was. Morocco are no longer outsiders after their historic semifinal run in Qatar and remain one of the most structurally disciplined transition teams in international football. Scotland arrive with the kind of physicality, organization and set-piece threat that can turn every match into a grind. Haiti, meanwhile, enter as underdogs, but with enough pace and defensive compactness to create some problems in transition. Ancelotti’s Brazil face Atlas Lions, Tartan Army test BRAZIL’S credentials to end a 24-year wait to be world champions will be tested from the off as 2022 semifinalists Morocco and a Scotland side seeking a historic breakthrough pose threats to the Selecao . After consistent failure when faced with stern European opposition in the knockout stages, Brazil have turned to the coach who has won more Champions Leagues than anyone else in Italian Carlo Ancelotti to deliver a sixth star on the famous yellow jersey. Brazil’s preparations have been dominated by the soap opera surrounding Neymar’s inclu sion in Ancelotti’s squad. The 34-year-old will feature at his fourth World Cup despite not having been capped in the past three years. “Before the squad announcement, we received a report from Santos saying Neymar had a minor issue, some swelling. We left Santos to deal with that situation until the 27th of May,” Ancelotti told reporters last week. “Neymar was called up because, from the coaching staff’s point of view, he had to be called up. After the 27th, the CBF took over Neymar’s situation, and that’s what we’ve done. We’re managing Neymar’s recovery. We believe he’ll recover as quickly as possible. “He’s working well, and he’s in good spir its … We believe he can be ready for the first World Cup match. If he’s not ready for the first match, he’ll be ready for the second. So we have absolutely no intention of replacing any one.” Goalkeeper Alisson Becker and centrebacks Gabriel Magalhaes and Marquinhos provide a defensive base that is arguably the best in the tournament. But there are clear deficiencies at fullback, central midfield and centre-forward compared to Brazil squads of old. Ancelotti was parachuted in towards the end of an unconvincing qualifying campaign, during which Brazil lost six of 18 matches. Friendly defeats to Japan and France since the former Real Madrid coach took charge have done little to inspire confidence. Yet the five-time Champions League winner has a proven track record when it comes to knockout football. Ancelotti also got the best out of Vinicius Junior during their time together in Madrid. Given the opportunity to step out of the shadow of club teammate Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius is the one world-class attacking talent that could carry his country to glory. However, defeat in their opening game to African powerhouses Morocco would set alarm bells ringing for Ancelotti’s men.

the 2022 World Cup, but their hopes of another run to the latter stages this time may not have been helped by a turbulent few months. The Atlas Lions reached the semifinals in Qatar, eliminating Spain on penalties in the last 16 and knocking out Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the quarterfinals. Their remarkable run ended in defeat to France, before they lost the third-place play off against Croatia. Morocco were a surprise package then, having only previously made the knockout stage of a World Cup once, when they reached the last 16 in Mexico in 1986. This time is different: they are ranked eighth in the world, in between the Netherlands and Belgium, and two places above Germany. At home, supporters want to see their side play more expansive football than the largely defensive style which proved so effective in 2022.

protest, and handed the title to Morocco. An outraged Senegal are challeng ing that decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and the whole affair casts a cloud over both

“This is football so we could also go out in the first round. But believe me, I think we can go all the way and win a World Cup.” Morocco are already building towards the next World Cup in 2030, which the country will co-host with Spain and Portugal. They want to host the final in four years’ time, in a new 115,000-seat mega stadium under construc tion near Casablanca. So they will want to feature in that final too, but they head to the

Mohamed Ouahbi

United States with big ambitions despite the drama of recent months.

Carlo Ancelotti

sure. Then it weighs less heavily on you.” For Ancelotti, the antidote is not to drain Brazil of their identity but to give it a frame sturdy enough to survive modern football’s intensity. The old question – should Brazil entertain or simply win? – is not one he accepts as a choice. “What Brazilian players and Brazilian foot ball must not lose is their greatest quality: crea tivity, joy and energy,” he said. Ancelotti said he found the clearest version of what he wants from Brazil not on a pitch, but at Carnival. “If you go to watch the parade here in Rio, everything is perfectly organised – the timing, the music, everything is perfect. These are characteristics of the Brazilian people that I saw at the Carnival and that I want to bring to the national team: the joy, the energy, the

The Italian coach has seen enough trophies, tantrums and tactical revolutions to know that Brazil’s World Cup problem is not a shortage of talent – it is what happens when that talent starts treating every misplaced pass like a national emergency. Brazil’s recent World Cup exits have often been picked over as much for emotional fragil ity as for tactical flaws, and Ancelotti said he had seen signs of that burden even in friend lies. “I’ve seen it in some friendlies … a mistake by a teammate in a friendly match seems like a tragedy,” he said. “We need to establish a routine to avoid all this, because pressure is obviously a very important factor. Managing pressure well means having more motivation and more camaraderie, because you can share the pres

organisation, the commitment, the attitude.” The Italian rejected the idea that Brazil have lost their aura, saying their footballing mys tique built over generations could not vanish because of recent disappointments. “Brazil has something special, and always will,” he said. “Brazil has, and always has had, the ability to produce great talent. Even now this country produces more talent than other countries.” Brazil may not arrive as favourites, but Ancelotti said he was comfortable with that. “I like it,” he said of Brazil being viewed as a dark horse. “I think it’s a World Cup where there isn’t a clear favourite because every team has its problems. “There is no perfect team. I believe the most resilient team will win the World Cup.”