{"id":702347,"date":"2026-06-13T20:59:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T20:59:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/702347\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T20:59:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T20:59:21","slug":"scotland-v-haiti-live-world-cup-line-ups-and-latest-team-news-ahead-of-must-win-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/702347\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland v Haiti LIVE: World Cup line-ups and latest team news ahead of must-win return"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Andy Robertson: Scotland squad ‘like Christmas Eve’ before World Cup return <\/p>\n

Scotland captain Andy Robertson said the mood around the squad was like \u201cChristmas Eve\u201d ahead of their World Cup return against Haiti tonight. <\/p>\n

Speaking to BBC Sport last night, the Scotland captain said: “We’re on the eve of it and in the team hotel it feels like Christmas Eve when you’re a little kid. It’s an incredible stadium, an incredible thing to be part of.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m just so proud of everyone, all 26 who are going to be able to participate. We’ve been through so much in our lives and careers to be able to be here at this point and we’re now right on the edge of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just feels so special and it feels the Denmark game was an age ago and we’ve waited so long for it and tomorrow’s so close. All the preparation’s done and we’re ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"(Getty)<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood13 June 2026 21:51<\/p>\n

<\/a>World Cup third-place rankings explained: Is one win enough to qualify?<\/p>\n

The format of the Euros gives us a bit of a clue. Four points (so one win, a draw and a defeat) is almost guaranteed to be enough. But, no, one win on its own is sometimes not enough to go through.<\/p>\n

At Euro 2016, third-placed sides Turkey and Albania were eliminated on three points despite both winning one of their games and losing the other two.<\/p>\n

At Euro 2020, Finland and Slovakia both finished third in their group with one win and two defeats, but three points was not enough to qualify.<\/p>\n

And in Euro 2024, Hungary were eliminated on three points while Slovenia did \u2018a Portugal\u2019 and advanced despite three draws and zero wins.<\/p>\n

The magic number for progress is therefore likely to be three points, plus a goal difference of at least -1 – the higher, the better, obviously.<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood13 June 2026 21:29<\/p>\n

<\/a>Scotland’s pre-World Cup form: Goals, goals, goals! <\/p>\n

Scotland warmed up for the World Cup by scoring four goals in back-to-back games. <\/p>\n

A 4-1 victory over 10-player Curacao at Hampden sent Scotland off to the United States in style, where they also beat Bolivia 4-0 in their final game before the big-kick. <\/p>\n

Lawrence Shankland scored twice against Curacao, with youngster Findlay Curtis getting on the scoresheet too. Shankland scored again in the win over Boliva, while Che Adams got himself a brace. <\/p>\n

Unlike their previous two major tournament appearances, Scotland\u2019s forwards have found some form… <\/p>\n

\"\"(PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood13 June 2026 21:08<\/p>\n

<\/a>Scotland’s talent to watch: Ben Gannon Doak<\/p>\n

The winger made a huge difference for Scotland in World Cup qualifying, injecting a raw ability to beat a man out wide into a team that is often painfully one-paced. That Gannon Doak has barely played since the win over Denmark due to a hamstring injury, and only returned to action for Bournemouth shortly before the end of the season, could be an issue.<\/p>\n

\"\"(PA)<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood13 June 2026 20:46<\/p>\n

<\/a>Scotland’s star player: Scott McTominay<\/p>\n

The glow-up since moving to Napoli has been wonderful. A scudetto-winning legend in Naples, nominated for last season\u2019s Ballon d\u2019Or, McTominay has developed an aura that brings genuine hope to the Tartan Army. <\/p>\n

The overhead kick against Denmark will be replayed over and over, but we\u2019ll take a tap-in in the USA. Either way, his ability to arrive into the box and produce a decisive moment could be crucial to getting through.<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood13 June 2026 20:25<\/p>\n

<\/a>Can Scotland escape its World Cup group?<\/p>\n

Predict the winner of Scotland’s group stage matches…. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood13 June 2026 20:02<\/p>\n

<\/a>World Cup 2026 \u2013 Group C guide<\/p>\n

Are you all ready to party like it\u2019s 1998? Scotland\u2019s men are making their long-awaited return to a World Cup and the Tartan Army will be reunited with two of their group stage opponents from 28 years ago in Brazil and Morocco. Fancy that.<\/p>\n

Haiti also join the fun and will be making just their second World Cup appearance, as well as their first since 1974. The Caribbean nation are first up for Steve Clark\u2019s side, whose hopes of becoming the first Scotland team to advance from a group stage of a major tournament could rest on that opening clash in Foxborough. Ooft.<\/p>\n

Group C, after all, is the only pool at this expanded World Cup to feature two top-10 nations in Brazil, the record five-time champions, and Morocco, the (massive asterisk) African champions and World Cup semi-finalists from four years ago. It\u2019s a belter of a group.<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood13 June 2026 19:40<\/p>\n

<\/a>Scotland’s previous tournament openers: Germany humbling <\/p>\n

Scotland returned to full crowds at Euro 2024, with the Tartan Army travelling to Germany in their thousands in a memorable tournament… off the pitch. <\/p>\n

On it, Scotland were dire, perhaps the worst side at the Euros. Things got off to a bad start when they faced Germany in Munich, going down to 10 men early on and losing 5-1 to the hosts. <\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t get humped,\u201d Steve Clarke replied when asked what he learned from that one… <\/p>\n

\"\"(Getty)<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood13 June 2026 19:17<\/p>\n

<\/a>IN PICTURES: Scotland fans taking over Boston<\/p>\n

The Tartan Army travel well and, after 28 years since their last World Cup, they\u2019re unsurprisingly out in force in the US.<\/p>\n

Boston has become a sea of Saltires, even though we\u2019re still seven hours away from kick-off.<\/p>\n

\"\"(PA)\"\"(PA)\"\"(PA)\"\"(PA)<\/p>\n

Luke Baker13 June 2026 19:06<\/p>\n

<\/a>Scotland’s previous tournament openers: Hampden defeat<\/p>\n

Scotland made their return to a major men\u2019s tournament when they played Czech Republic at Hampden in their opening match of Euro 2020, in front of a crowd limited by the after-effects of the Covid pandemic. <\/p>\n

And Scotland\u2019s return fell a little flat, losing to the Czechs 2-0. That match is best remembered by Patrik Schick\u2019s goal from the halfway line, which beat the unfortunate David Marshall. <\/p>\n

Kenny McLean got his own back a few years later….<\/p>\n

\"DavidDavid Marshall was beaten by Patrik Schick’s wonder goal at Hampden (PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood13 June 2026 18:55<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andy Robertson: Scotland squad ‘like Christmas Eve’ before World Cup return Scotland captain Andy Robertson said the mood…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":702348,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[303624,204701,293,7183,8363,122828,16117,218486,23627,303623,308,168427,81943,2001,129651,688,4933,9121,303622,403,1079,99,34541,15574,6100,282960,24,168429],"class_list":["post-702347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-andrew-robertson-soccer-player","tag-boston-massachusetts","tag-color-image","tag-fifa","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-fifa-world-cup-2026","tag-gillette-stadium","tag-group-c","tag-haiti","tag-haiti-national-soccer-team","tag-horizontal","tag-international-team-soccer","tag-journalist","tag-massachusetts","tag-national-team","tag-photography","tag-press-conference","tag-scotland","tag-scotland-national-soccer-team","tag-soccer","tag-sport","tag-sports","tag-stadium","tag-talking","tag-the-media","tag-united-kingdom-national-team","tag-usa","tag-world-sports-championship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=702347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/702348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=702347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=702347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=702347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}