By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-06-23 14:52:55 | Updated at 2026-06-23 17:07:50
2 hours ago
Can Scotland finally escape the group stage, or will a familiar foe break Tartan Army hearts? We look ahead to Wednesday’s FIFA World Cup clash with our Scotland vs Brazil prediction and preview.
Scotland vs Brazil: The Key Insights
- According to the Opta supercomputer, Brazil will stride through to the knockout phase – they have a 68.1% chance of victory.
- With just a 12.9% chance of finally beating the Brazilians, Scotland can assume their preferred role as underdogs.
- Brazil are the team Scotland have faced most without ever winning (P10 D2 L8).
Meeting in Miami for their fifth World Cup encounter, Brazil are set to tackle a Scotland side intent on rewriting history.
While the South American giants are five-time world champions, their Scottish counterparts have been trying and failing to get out of the group stage at major tournaments.
Already guaranteed to finish at least third in Group C, just one more point would surely confirm progress to the World Cup’s knockout phase for the very first time – even a slim loss could prove enough.
Scotland followed a 1-0 victory over Haiti with a 1-0 defeat to Morocco, and they’ll now try to finally win more than once at a major finals.
Aiming to end that quest, Steve Clarke’s squad certainly aren’t lacking experience; his starting XI against Morocco contained players with a combined 609 senior caps – the most ever in Scottish football history.
However, Scotland have never beaten South American opposition at the World Cup (D2 L6). Among those matches are four games against Brazil, who they first met in 1974.
Though that encounter with the then-reigning champions ended goalless, Brazil have since won three times – at Spain ’82, Italia ’90, and again at France ’98.
This year, the Seleção sit top of Group C on goal difference, having followed an unconvincing 1-1 draw with Morocco by beating Haiti 3-0.
Against the latter, Matheus Cunha‘s double and Vinícius Júnior‘s second strike of the tournament saw Brazil surpass Germany for the most goals scored in World Cup history, taking them up to 241. Germany subsequently matched that with two goals against Ivory Coast.
Like Clarke, Carlo Ancelotti prefers proven nous to raw potential: at 30 years and 190 days, the Brazilian XI that started against Haiti was their oldest for any World Cup match since the 1962 final.
However, there have been some exciting exceptions to that general rule.
Both introduced from the bench in Philadelphia, Rayan (19 years, 320 days) and Endrick (19 years, 333 days) became the youngest men to represent Brazil at a World Cup for 56 years.
Indeed, it was only the second time they’ve fielded two players aged under 20 in the same World Cup game, following José Altafini and a 17-year-old prodigy named Pelé back in 1958.
Ever more so following an injury to Raphinha, most Brazilian hopes rest on Vinícius, who has been involved in six goals across his last five international appearances (three goals, three assists).
If Vinícius is the present, perhaps Neymar represents the past, but with Raphinha absent and the Santos star supposedly now fit, he may play some part on Wednesday.
Notably, Neymar’s first brace in the famous canary yellow kit came against Scotland some 15 years ago, when Ben Gannon-Doak was still attending infant school.
Clarke has been urged by the Tartan Army to let loose his rapid winger, who played a part in John McGinn’s goal against Haiti but was reduced to a cameo in the loss to Morocco.
While Gannon-Doak may be Scotland’s wildcard, their unsung hero is surely Lewis Ferguson, who tops his team’s charts for tackles (8), interceptions (4) and duels won (20) so far.
Alongside injury doubts Scott McKenna and Aaron Hickey, Ferguson has since missed some training, but he’ll hope to be ready for what could be Scottish football’s finest hour.
Scotland vs Brazil Head-to-Head
Resuming an amicable rivalry, Brazil and Scotland are set for their fifth World Cup meeting; only Argentina vs Netherlands (six) has been played more times since 1974.
Since a 0-0 draw that year, the Selecao have won the next three (4-1 in 1982, 1-0 in 1990 and 2-1 in 1998); they’re also undefeated in six friendlies.
Scotland vs Brazil Prediction
The Opta supercomputer’s 25,000 pre-match simulations established Brazil as clear favourites, with a 68.1% chance of success.
Scotland only have a modest 12.9% chance of claiming victory, with the draw rated at 19%.
Scotland vs Brazil Squads
Scotland: Angus Gunn, Liam Kelly, Craig Gordon, Aaron Hickey, Andy Robertson, Grant Hanley, Kieran Tierney, Jack Hendry, John Souttar, Dominic Hyam, Nathan Patterson, Anthony Ralston, Scott McKenna, Scott McTominay, John McGinn, Tyler Fletcher, Ryan Christie, Lewis Ferguson, Kenny McLean, Lyndon Dykes, Ché Adams, Ross Stewart, Ben Gannon-Doak, George Hirst, Lawrence Shankland, Findlay Curtis.
Brazil: Alisson Becker, Weverton, Ederson, Gabriel Magalhães, Marquinhos, Alex Sandro, Danilo, Bremer, Léo Pereira, Douglas Santos, Roger Ibañez, Éderson Silva, Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães, Fabinho, Danilo Santos, Lucas Paquetá, Vinícius Júnior, Matheus Cunha, Neymar, Raphinha, Endrick, Luiz Henrique, Gabriel Martinelli, Igor Thiago, Rayan.
Scotland vs Brazil Predicted Lineups
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