Saint-Etienne, 1998. That was the last time Scotland kicked a ball at a World Cup. It finished 3-0 to Morocco, Craig Burley sent off, the result done before half the Tartan Army had sat back down. Then 28 years of watching other nations enjoy their summers. The draw in December went and paired the two of them again, Brazil in the group as well, near enough the 1998 line-up put back together. This time Scotland arrive with a chance to rewrite the ending.
When Scotland vs Morocco kicks off, and where to watch
It is a late one for anyone staying up at home. Kick-off in Foxborough, just outside Boston, is 6pm on the east coast, which means 11pm BST. The ground is Gillette Stadium and the date is Friday 19 June. ITV has it in the UK, STV north of the border, both free to air, and you can stream it on ITVX or STV Player. It is Scotland’s middle group fixture, played after the opener against Haiti and before the closer against Brazil.
If you are mapping out the rest of the tournament, our full World Cup 2026 coverage tracks every group and fixture, while our guide to watching the World Cup free in the UK lays out which game lands on which channel.
Why this is the game that decides Scotland’s group
Brazil are expected to win Group C at a canter. That has been the assumption since the draw, and nothing about Carlo Ancelotti’s squad changes it. Which leaves second place, and the eight third-place spots, as the realistic targets, and it leaves this match as the one Scotland have circled.
Both sides play before this. Haiti for Scotland, Brazil for Morocco. Two results banked already, the group starting to take shape by the time these two line up. Whatever that shape is, the logic holds. Scotland are not getting points off Brazil on current form. Morocco are the side they can plausibly take something from, and the side they have to take something from if 28 years of waiting is going to mean more than three games and a flight home.
The history hangs over it. In 1998 a win would not even have saved Scotland, because Norway beat Brazil late to steal second, but the 3-0 was the image that stuck. Salaheddine Bassir scored twice. It was a gubbing, and it was the last thing a Scotland side did on this stage. Clarke’s players know it.
Morocco team news: Hakimi, Diaz and a new man in charge
Morocco are the most dangerous team in this group bar Brazil, and on their day the gap to Brazil is not large. They sit eighth in the world, they reached the semi-finals in Qatar four years ago as the first African or Arab nation ever to get there, and they arrive as African champions.
There has been upheaval, though. Walid Regragui took them to that semi-final and then walked away in March. The man in the dugout now is Mohamed Ouahbi. He had been running the under-20s, won them a World Cup in 2025, and this is his first crack at a senior tournament. The talent he inherits is serious. Achraf Hakimi is the one to worry about. He captains the side and he is comfortably their best player, a right-back in name who spends half the game as a winger. A treble at PSG last season, African Player of the Year, the lot. Behind him there is plenty more. Sofyan Amrabat does the unglamorous work in the middle. Brahim Diaz supplies the craft. Bilal El Khannouss and Azzedine Ounahi can both punish you between the lines, and Yassine Bounou, on his day, is as good a goalkeeper as anyone at this tournament.
One name missing tells you what Ouahbi wants. He has left out Youssef En-Nesyri. The same En-Nesyri who knocked Portugal out in 2022, now surplus to a more technical front three. The shape is a 4-3-3 and the full-backs do not hang back. Scotland will spend long spells without the ball.
Scotland team news and where Clarke’s side can hurt them
A caveat first. Scotland play Haiti before this, so the starting XI and the fitness picture will both move. Treat what follows as the squad, not the team sheet.
The shape is a 4-2-3-1. Andy Robertson captains from left-back, and most of what Scotland do well runs through Scott McTominay. Best player in Serie A last season, no less. If you want the case for him, the overhead kick against Denmark that dragged Scotland to this World Cup makes it on its own. Around him, John McGinn runs himself into the ground. Billy Gilmour and Lewis Ferguson keep the ball honest. Ché Adams leads the line. And then there is Ben Gannon-Doak. Bournemouth’s flyer. Get him running at a back line pushed high and Scotland have a way into almost any game.
There are fitness questions around the edges. Craig Gordon, 43 and recovering from a shoulder problem, travels as one of three keepers, and Grant Hanley carried a knee issue into selection. Scotland’s route here is the one Clarke knows best. Stay compact, protect the box, frustrate a Morocco side that likes space to run into, and trust McTominay’s late runs and the set pieces to find a moment.
Scotland vs Morocco prediction
Morocco should win this. They are deeper, quicker and more gifted, and a new manager with a U20 title on his CV is not the disadvantage it might sound. But this is exactly the kind of low-event, tight game Clarke is built for, and a Morocco team still settling under Ouahbi can be got at early. A draw would not be a shock, and a draw would do an enormous amount for Scotland.
The call here is a narrow Morocco win, 2-1, with Scotland landing a blow that keeps it honest into the closing stages. Which leaves the real question hanging over Foxborough. After 28 years away, do this Scotland side have the performance in them to make Morocco pay for the last one, or does the wait end the way it started?
