Scotland and Morocco have confirmed their starting teams on matchday two of their 2026 World Cup campaigns in Boston on Friday.
The Tartan Army would seal a spot in the knockout stage with victory, having beaten Haiti in their first match at the finals since 1998.
Morocco showed why they reached the semi-finals in 2022 by taking an early lead against record five-time champions Brazil as part of a 1-1 draw in their opener.
Brazil and Haiti will continue the action in Group C in Philadelphia on Saturday (01:30 BST).
“We’re here to take care of business.”#SCOMAR | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/5lSXikDC5l
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 19, 2026
World Cup 2026: Scotland confirmed team vs Morocco
Defender Scott McKenna is out with a calf injury for Scotland, who bring in Kieran Tierney, Nathan Patterson and Ryan Christie.
Aaron Hickey, Ben Gannon-Doak and Lawrence Shankland make way.
Scotland starting XI: Angus Gunn, Andy Robertson, Grant Hanley, Kieran Tierney, Jack Hendry, Nathan Patterson, Scott McTominay, John McGinn, Ryan Christie, Lewis Ferguson, Che Adams
Scotland substitutes: Liam Kelly, Craig Gordon, Aaron Hickey, John Souttar, Dominic Hyam, Anthony Ralston, Scott McKenna, Tyler Fletcher, Kenny McLean, Lyndon Dykes, Ross Stewart, Ben Gannon-Doak, George Hirst, Lawrence Shankland, Findlay Curtis
World Cup 2026: Morocco full line up vs Scotland
Morocco are unchanged.
Morocco starting XI: Yassine Bounou, Achraf Hakimi, Noussair Mazraoui, Issa Diop, Chadi Riad, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Azzedine Ounahi, Ismael Saibari, Bilal El Khannouss, Neil El Aynaoui, Brahim Diaz
Morocco substitutes: Munir El Kajoui, Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti, Marwane Saadane, Zakaria El Ouahdi, Youssef Belammari, Redouane Halhal, Anass Salah Eddine, Sofyan Amrabat, Chemseddine Talbi, Samir El Moukabit, Gessime Yassine, Soufiane Rahimi, Amine Sbai, Ayoub El Kaabi, Ayoube Amaimouni
Where to watch Scotland vs Morocco: TV channel, live online streams
Kick-off on Friday is at 23:00 BST (18:00 ET / 15:00 PT). In the UK, live coverage is on ITV1.
Fans can stream the action via ITV’s website and ITVX app, which is available on a vast variety of devices for viewing on the go.
Scotland vs Morocco: World Cup 2026 stats
- These sides’ only previous encounter was during the group stage of the 1998 finals, Morocco winning 3-0 for their largest-ever World Cup victory
- Scotland have won eight of their last 11 competitive matches (D1 L2) and five of their last six (L1), with their only defeats coming home and away to Greece
- John McGinn has scored 21 goals under manager Steve Clarke for Scotland, which is the joint-most goals by a player under a single Scotland manager along with Denis Law under Ian McColl (21 in 21 games)
- The Tartan Army could win more than one game and consecutive games at a single major tournament for the first time
- Clarke is leading Scotland at a third major tournament following EURO 2020 and EURO 2024, which is more than any other head coach for the national team
- Including EURO appearances, Scotland have failed to surpass the opening round in any of their 12 previous attempts at major competitions
- Nine of Morocco’s last 12 World Cup matches have come against European teams, with no side playing as many games at the tournament against European opposition since the 2018 finals
- Morocco have lost one of their last six World Cup group matches against European opposition (W2 D3) – a 1-0 defeat against Portugal in 2018
- They are unbeaten in their last five group stage matches at the World Cup (W2 D3), which is the joint-best run by an African nation: Cameroon were unbeaten in five between 1982 and 1990 and Senegal had five unbeaten group games between 2002 and 2018
- Reigning African Footballer of the Year Achraf Hakimi made more tackles (26) than any other player at the 2022 World Cup and recorded the second-most ground duels won (41)
- Midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi was France Under-21 captain until the midfielder’s switch to Morocco was approved in May. Brahim Diaz, who top-scored at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations with five goals, was born in Spain
