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Who: Brazil vs Haiti
What: FIFA World Cup 2026 Group C match
Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
When: Friday, 6:30pm local time (00:30 GMT Saturday)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 21:00 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.
Brazil’s draw with Morocco in their opening match left fans with more doubts than belief, with millions wondering if the record five-time champions are still among the world’s best teams.
Having slipped to third in a group that they were expected to dominate, Brazil now face minnows Haiti in their second group game, needing a World Cup reset.
Head coach Carlo Ancelotti will need to address several shortcomings with his team if he wants to avoid another disappointing performance during the group stage.
Here is all to know before Brazil vs Haiti kicks off:
While Brazil’s weak showing in the first game has raised questions about the team’s odds of a deep run, Ancelotti believes it is no cause for concern just yet.
Against Morocco, Brazil showed signs of nerves during the early stages and struggled to cope with the AFCON champions’ attack. Some players also struggled to cope with the intensity of the encounter.
The Italian coach, who has been in charge for just over a year, said the upcoming match with Haiti offers his side an opportunity to address their weak points.
“You don’t win the World Cup in the first match,” Ancelotti told reporters in Philadelphia on Thursday.
“The players’ self-criticism was very positive. I think we’ll sort out the problems; I remain confident that we’ll be competitive.”
Critics have argued that Brazil lacks an identity under Ancelotti, but the 67-year-old – nicknamed “Don Carlo” – believes adapting his tactics according to gametime situations is more important.
“I don’t want a single identity,” he said. “I want my team to have multiple identities.”
It took Haiti more than half a century to return to the World Cup, and the Caribbean underdogs have somewhat of a cruel challenge at hand, being grouped alongside world-class Brazil, African giants Morocco, and Scotland.
While their 1-0 defeat to Scotland in the opening game did not dampen their spirit, Haiti know they face a far more difficult task against Brazil, who have no shortage of talent in their squad.
The odds are stacked against Haiti, but in a tournament where upsets have not been uncommon, their fans are daring to dream.
“Tomorrow [Friday], we’ve got everything to gain in a match like this. It’s been 52 years since we last featured in a World Cup, and now we’re up against Brazil – we’ve got to live up to our fans’ expectations,” coach Sebastien Migne said.
“It’s a privilege to be here, and I hope we can make the Haitian people proud of us.
“It would be absolute madness in Haiti if we won this match,” he added.
World No 85 Haiti, still looking for their first goal of this World Cup campaign, enter the match 80 spots below Brazil on the FIFA rankings.
Stats provider Opta’s supercomputer has handed Brazil a whopping 87.3 percent probability of winning against Haiti, who have a mere 4.3 percent chance of winning. There is an 8.4 percent probability of a draw.
Overall, Brazil are seventh in the list of title favourites – with a 5.2 percent probability – behind a bunch of teams including France, Argentina and England, who make up the top three.
To check the TV listings for your country, head to FIFA’s TV listing schedule here.
Brazil, Haiti, Morocco and Scotland are in Group C.
Scotland lead the group with three points, followed by Morocco in second spot with one point. Brazil is in third place, also on a point, while Haiti is at the bottom with no points so far.
The top two teams from each of the 12 groups – along with the eight best third-placed teams – proceed to the next phase, the round of 32, which has been introduced at the World Cup for the first time.
(Last five games, latest first)
Brazil: D-W-W-W-L
Haiti: L-L-W-D-L
Brazil have performed significantly better than Haiti in their last five matches.
They started their campaign in North America with a 1-1 draw with Morocco. Before the World Cup, Brazil registered victories over Egypt and Panama in friendlies and beat Croatia in March. But they lost to France in March.
Haiti suffered a defeat to Scotland in their opening World Cup game. They lost to Peru and beat New Zealand in pre-World Cup friendlies earlier this month, while they drew with Iceland and lost to Tunisia in friendlies in March.
Brazil have faced Haiti three times, winning on all occasions. Their last meeting dates back to a 2016 Copa America group game, in which Brazil thrashed Haiti 7-1.
Friday’s meeting between Brazil and Haiti will be their first at a World Cup.
Just as in their opening match, Brazil’s oft-injured star Neymar Jr has been ruled out of the Haiti game.
A lingering calf strain will keep the veteran forward – Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 79 goals – sidelined with the team hoping he recovers in time to feature in their final group game on June 24 against Scotland. He has not played for Brazil since October 2023.
Neymar was diagnosed in late May with the injury and has featured in just half of the games for his club side Santos this year due to various fitness issues.
For Haiti, striker Nazon – who was on the bench last time – is doubtful.
Ancelotti is expected to make changes following criticism over his decision to start striker Igor Thiago and right-back Roger Ibanez against Morocco. Danilo and Cunha are widely tipped to replace them in the lineup against Haiti.
(4-2-3-1): Alisson (Goalkeeper); Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Santos; Guimaraes, Casemiro; Raphinha, Paqueta, Vinicius Jr; Cunha
(4-4-2): Placide (goalkeeper); Acrus, Ade, Delcroix, Experience; Casimir, Jacques, Bellegarde, Providence; Isidor, Pierrot
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