'Buzzing' Scots have 'point to prove' at World Cup

Players, politicians and pundits weighed in on Scotland's men's World Cup draw much more quickly than the protracted event in Washington DC took to complete.

Steve Clarke's side will face five-time champions Brazil and Morocco - both beat Scotland at the 1998 World Cup - as well as Haiti, who are returning to the finals for the first time since 1974.

Scotland open against Haiti on 13 June, face Morocco six days later and meet Brazil on 24 June. The fixtures will likely take place in Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey or Philadelphia.

Clarke, Scottish FA president Mike Mulraney and chief executive Ian Maxwell were pictured laughing as Scotland came out the pot, with teams like Paraguay, Ivory Coast, Tunisia and Egypt unable to be in Group C to avoid having more than one South American or African country in the same section.

Clarke said being draw with Brazil and Morocco again was a "quirk of fate", given Scotland faced them both on their last World Cup appearance in 1998.

First minister John Swinney wished Scotland "the best of luck", while former and current Scotland players expressed optimism mixed with some caution.

"We're not just there to make up the numbers," Scotland midfielder Ryan Christie told BBC Scotland's Sportscene. "We're wanting to go and compete and get through the group phase.

"We have to go over there wanting to try to prove a point."

Christie was part of Clarke's squads at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024, both of which ended at the group stage for Scotland.

"It's the same core of players that's managed to qualify for this World Cup," said the Bournemouth winger, 30. "Hopefully, we can go this one step further this time.

"Two out of the three games are going to be massively tough and even Haiti - nobody gets to a World Cup without being a decent team. [They are] teams we're not used to playing.

"You can't ask for more exciting games. I'm sure me and the rest of the boys are buzzing for it. We go into that tournament a little bit as the underdogs. It suits us. Hopefully, these other teams don't know what to expect and we can surprise them a little bit."

Haiti head coach Sebastien Migne said Group C is "a good mixture" of teams and told BBC Scotland in Washington: "It's a fantastic opportunity for Haiti to show our quality. We will have a fantastic visibility.

"We'll try and be at the level. [Scotland] will be a good challenge for us and for our players. We know to start in the competition is really important so this game will be really important for us.

"A lot of pressure. We send a lot of expectation for the fans in the country and they expect a good performance for us so we'll try our best."

Migne's team will, as things stand, not have fans in the United States because of a travel ban.

"It will be a big challenge to find a solution for that," he said. "I know the fans in Scotland are so many and so important."

Podcast: Scotland play Brazil, Morocco & Haiti at World Cup

05/12/25

Christie explained he feared he had "jinxed" Scotland's draw.

"Everybody's been asking me who I've wanted, I've been saying Brazil the whole week and then they came out and I thought, maybe I shouldn't be saying that," he said in jest.

"Brazil was one of my favourite international teams growing up. Hopefully, we'll get the chance, myself, to play them next summer."

When asked what Scotland could do better at the World Cup after group-stage exits at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024, Christie hoped they could "prove a lot of people wrong".

Forward Lyndon Dykes also played at Euro 2020, but injury kept him out of last year's Euros in Germany.

The Australia-born Birmingham City striker added he "can't wait for it".

The 30-year-old admitted it would have been "quite funny to get Australia", who are in Group D with co-hosts USA.

But Dykes added: "I'm very confident. I'm always positive so I think we can get out the group.

"Obviously, it's not going to be easy, massive teams in there but I believe in my team, I believe in my team-mates.

"We've got the whole nation on our backs. We've proved it before against big teams and we just need to make sure that we turn up in the games that we need to because there's going to be no room for mistakes.

"We have to make sure that we give it our all and don't leave anything on the pitch like before."

Dykes also revealed some of the squad's reaction to the draw.

"The group chat's been going crazy right now," he added on Sportscene. "We're all speaking to each other.

"You need to have everyone's backs and you have to have a brotherhood about us and that's what we've got - and that's what we've built for a while now.

"We get through big important games together. The whole crowd and the whole nation jumps on our back and I feel like sometimes we're unstoppable."

Billy Dodds and James McFadden were part of Scotland teams that missed out on major finals between 1998 and 2021.

McFadden, often Scotland's talisman as a player, "wouldn't have minded a slightly easier group".

"I just want to see us go and give it a go and try and upset the odds, because most people will be looking at Brazil, Morocco for winning the group first and second," added the ex-forward on Sportscene.

"We can be realistic at a point and say, 'right, potentially third is there', but we need to go there and believe that we can get something."

Dodds was part of Craig Brown's squad during the 1998 qualifying campaign, but did not make the squad for the France tournament.

"They didn't play to their capabilities in those finals and Morocco was a big negative for us as well, so we have a chance to redeem ourselves," he added on Sportscene.

"It's certainly a game we can win and if we take anything out of Brazil it's a bonus but then you fall back to Haiti, where hopefully you get all three points there and certainly get ourselves qualified and out the group.

"We need to win that one and hopefully get a big result against Morocco and we're there, or even a draw and that should see us out the group.

"The luck we've carried so far with a good bit of effort, obviously, then we have a real opportunity."