Scotland have a chance to reach the knockout rounds of a World Cup for the first time when they face Morocco.
Steve Clarke’s men ended their country’s wait for a first World Cup win since 1990 when they beat Haiti 1-0 in their Group C opener.
With the eight best third-placed finishers going through to the knockouts, that result could prove to be enough for Scotland.
But they will be keen to remove any doubt by upsetting the odds against Morocco, who won this fixture 3-0 in the final game of Scotland’s previous finals appearance in 1998.
Scotland fans will be keen to see their team avenge that defeat, though that will be easier said than done.
The Atlas Lions were impressive in a pulsating first half of their opening game with Brazil, though they could not claim all three points as Ismael Saibari’s opener was cancelled out by Vinicius Junior.
Still, that display underlined why Morocco are well fancied to go deep into the tournament again after reaching the semi-finals in 2022.
And Clarke and Scotland captain Andy Robertson know the challenge they face against the team controversially awarded the Africa Cup of Nations title this year.
“Any time you play a team inside the world’s top 10, you know you’re going to have to be good without and with the ball,” Clarke told a pre-match press conference.
“We’re under no illusions about the size of the task for the next game. Morocco reached the last four in the last World Cup and I think this team are slightly better than that – that gives you idea of the task ahead.”
Asked about the possibility of reaching the knockouts for the first time, Robertson said: “I don’t think any of the lads and the coaching staff shy away from us wanting to be the first team to be able to do that for our country.
“We know how difficult that is going to be, were out playing against one of the best teams in the world but we believe we can make any game difficult and if we can do that, put in our best performance, then I believe we can get what we want and hopefully be the ones to achieve history.”
World Cup 2026: Scotland v Morocco team news
Scott McKenna (calf) is a doubt for Scotland, while Morocco have no fresh injury concerns.
Scotland v Morocco predicted World Cup 2026 line-ups
Scotland: Gunn; Hickey, Hendry, Hanley, Robertson; Gannon-Doak, Ferguson, McTominay, McGinn; Adams, Shankland
Morocco: Bono; Hakimi, Diop, Riad, Mazraoui; El Aynaoui, Bouaddi; Diaz, Ounahi, El Khannouss; Saibari
Where to watch Scotland v 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.
World Cup 2026: Scotland v Morocco 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
World Cup 2026: Scotland v Morocco prediction
Scotland will have the backing of vocal travelling support for their second straight game in Foxborough, but a bump back down to earth seems likely against a side of Morocco’s calibre.
Prediction: Scotland 1-2 Morocco
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