👀 Who goes through? Group C and D previews for World Cup 2026 | OneFootball

The 2026 World Cup will kick off next Thursday (11). 

And now it’s time to highlight the details of Groups C, which includes the Brazilian national team, and D of the biggest World Cup in history.

The top two teams in each group will advance to the pre-Round of 16 along with the eight best third-placed teams.

See below how the teams in these groups are shaping up and have your say: who should qualify?

🏆 Group C

🇧🇷 Brazil

🇲🇦 Morocco

🇭🇹 Haiti

🏴 Scotland

📅 Match Schedule:

June 13 - 7pm - Brazil vs Morocco

June 13 - 10pm - Haiti vs Scotland

June 19 - 7pm - Scotland vs Morocco

June 19 - 9:30pm - Brazil vs Haiti

June 24 - 7pm - Morocco vs Haiti  and Brazil vs Scotland

The Brazilian national team is heading to its 23rd World Cup. It is the only team to have appeared in every edition.

The mission is to end another 24-year title drought — just as it did in 1994.

Qualification came amid several coaching changes and some tension in a bumpy cycle.

It fell to Carlo Ancelotti to arrive with the goal of “putting the house in order.”

Rodrygo, Militão and Estêvão — three likely starters — were left out of the World Cup. And Neymar, who was called up, is aiming to recover in time to be available. 

Raphinha and Vini Jr. are two of the main weapons. And many players who impressed before the squad announcement have emerged as possible surprise packages. Such as Igor Thiago, Danilo Santos, Endrick and Rayan.

📸 Wagner Meier - 2026 Getty Images

Morocco is going to its sixth World Cup — the third in a row. Further proof of the rebuilding work done off the pitch that is now delivering results on it.

It surprised in Qatar by eliminating Spain and Portugal to reach the semifinals and now needs to “live up to” that strong 2022 campaign.

Qualification came with the expected dominance and a 100% record.

The 26-man squad features several standout names: Bono, Hakimi, Mazraoui, Aguerd, Amrabat, Ounahi, Brahim Díaz, Ezzalzouli and prolific scorer El Kaabi.

📸 Franco Arland - 2026 Getty Images

Haiti ended a long drought by securing its place at this year’s World Cup.

It had only played in the 1974 edition — the same as then-Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The spot came after finishing second in Group C of the qualifiers and then topping its group in the Third Phase. More traditional sides Honduras and Costa Rica were left behind.

📸 Vaughn Ridley - 2026 Getty Images

Johny Placide, the veteran goalkeeper who plays for Bastia and is 38 years old, is one of the leaders. Ricardo Adé (LDU), No. 10 Bellegarde (Wolves), Duckens Nazon (Esteghlal) and Pierrot (Rizespor) complete the list of standout names. 

After a 28-year absence, Scotland is back with hopes of “staying.”

The place was secured by topping the group that included Denmark.

Although Billy Gilmour was lost to injury after the squad announcement, the Scots still have several players enjoying excellent form.

Such as McTominay, McGinn and Christie. Robertson remains the team’s main reference point. 

📸 PETER POWELL - AFP or licensors

  See the previews for Groups A and B

🏆 Group D

🇺🇸 United States

🇵🇾 Paraguay

🇦🇺 Australia

🇹🇷 Türkiye

📅 Match Schedule:

June 12 - 10pm - USA vs Paraguay

June 14 - 1am - Australia vs Türkiye

June 19 - 4pm - USA vs Australia

June 20 - 1am - Türkiye vs Paraguay

June 25 - 11pm - Türkiye vs USA and Paraguay vs Australia 

The United States national team will play in its 12th World Cup.

And, unlike when it hosted in 1994, with greater responsibility.

Its last notable run came in 2002, when it reached the quarterfinals.

Pochettino arrived with the mission of making the team more competitive. 

One of the bets is on the presence of several players with already well-established national team careers. For example, Matt Turner, Sergiño Dest, Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Brenden Aaronson, Timothy Weah and Pulisic.

📸 Jamie Squire - 2026 Getty Images

Paraguay ended a significant World Cup drought.

It missed out in 2014, 2018 and 2022.

And its return came after recovery work under Gustavo Alfaro — including wins over Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. 

The squad that will represent the Albirroja has plenty of experience in defense and quality in midfield. 

📸 Milos Bicanski - 2026 Getty Images

But the striker with the most goals among the call-ups is Antonio Sanabria, who has scored seven times in 47 appearances.

There are seven players who play in Brazil. Including Mauricio, who was naturalized in time to be called up and impress.

Australia has become a “regular fixture” at World Cups since 2006.

And it will try to get past the Round of 16 barrier for the first time.

But qualification did not come as easily as expected.

It won only one of its first six matches before recovering and advancing in second place in the group topped by Japan.

Mathew Ryan, Aziz Behich, Jackson Irvine and Mathew Leckie are among the key figures.

📸 Adam Hunger - 2025 Getty Images

Two of the call-ups, Cristian Volpato and Tete Yengi, have yet to make their debuts for the Socceroos.

Türkiye qualified through the playoffs.

But there is plenty of expectation surrounding Turkey’s upcoming performance.

It is a return after missing every edition since finishing third in 2002.

Çalhanoğlu leads the squad, which also features the talents of Arda Güler and Kenan Yıldız.

📸 BURAK BASTURK

Çelik, Demiral, Söyüncü and Özcan are the other key figures in the team coached by Vincenzo Montella.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 FADEL SENNA