Haiti vs Scotland prediction: 2026 World Cup betting tips & odds | OneFootball

Scotland finally make their long-awaited return to World Cup action on Sunday when they open their campaign against Haiti in Boston (kick-off 2am, live on BBC One).

It’s been 28 years since Scotland last qualified for a men’s World Cup finals, and bizarrely, they were also drawn in a group with Brazil and Morocco back then.

The late Craig Brown was the manager, and the destination was France 98, and it’s fair to say the Scots hope they can do better this time around.

They opened with a 2-1 defeat to Brazil before drawing 1-1 with Norway in their second match, when Craig Burley cancelled out Havard Flo’s opener.

That turned out to be their only point of the tournament as they lost 3-0 to Morocco in St Etienne to bring an end to their World Cup campaign.

Betting sites are all backing Scotland for the win in this one, but they face a battle to progress from Group C as the third favourites behind Brazil and Morocco.

Haiti vs Scotland betting: Scots to hold their nerve

With Morocco and Brazil to play next, all the pressure is on Scotland to hit the ground running and get a win against Haiti, who are playing at their first tournament since 1974.

The two sides are separated by 41 places in the world rankings, so it’s easy to see why Scotland are the favourites for the win, with the World Cup betting sites, at odds of 3/5, but as we know, the opening games can often be cagey affairs.

Both sides have the weight of their nations on their shoulders and are finally back in World Cup action after long absences, but Scotland will have to leave any nerves in the changing room.

They qualified with a dramatic last-gasp win over Denmark in November. There were overhead kicks and two stunning stoppage-time goals that secured the 4-2 over the Group C leaders and the Scots' place at the tournament.

Haiti suffered just two defeats throughout their lengthy qualification process, to Curacao and Honduras, on their way to reaching only their second ever World Cup.

Steve Clarke’s side go into the game on the back of two wins in the build-up to the competition. First, a 4-1 win over Curacao on home soil and more recently a 4-0 win over Bolivia in New Jersey.

The Scots have only won two of their previous opening World Cup games, the last of which came against New Zealand in 1982, when they won 5-2.

It’s been a season to remember for Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland, who has scored 24 goals for club and country as Hearts were beaten to the Scottish Premiership title on the final day.

His form earned him a move to Rangers at the end of the season, and he goes into the opening match with eight goals in his last nine games.

He has also scored three goals in Scotland’s two pre-tournament friendlies, netting two against Curacao and the opening goal against Bolivia last weekend.

You can get 13/2 on him finishing as his country’s top scorer in the World Cup odds and 4/1 on him opening the scoring on Saturday

Haiti vs Scotland prediction 2: Lawrence Shankland to score at any time - 5/4 Spreadex

Haiti vs Scotland team news

Haiti: Le Rouge et Bleu have no injury concerns from the side that was beaten 2-1 by Peru at the weekend.

Scotland: Steve Clarke was forced to cancel a training-ground friendly with Norway earlier in the week to protect several players reporting niggles. Talisman Scott McTominay travelled separately due to a stomach bug, so could be a doubt.

Haiti vs Scotland head-to-head record

Haiti and Scotland have never met before. This will be the first competitive or friendly fixture between the two nations.

Haiti vs Scotland form guide

Haiti

Free football bets for the World Cup

Sky Bet are running a 50/1 enhanced betting sign up offer for a goal to be scored in Scotland’s World Cup opener against Haiti in the early hours of Sunday morning.

To claim the betting offer, customers must use the link below and create a Sky Bet account. Users must then deposit £5 and bet a maximum £1 on over 0.5 goals to be scored in Scotland vs Haiti at the normal odds.

If a goal is scored, customers will receive a payout at the normal odds, while the rest of the 50/1 odds are paid out in 5 x 10 free BuildABet tokens. If a goal is not scored, customers will still receive 1 x £10 free bet token to use on BuildABet.

World Cup free bets are active for 14 days.

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