Brazil secures group leadership with victory over Scotland and Canada faces challenges

It's day 14 of the 2026 World Cup, and Brazil have finished their group stage efficiently, defeating Scotland 3-0 to secure first place in Group C. The Scots finished third after Morocco's victory over Haiti led to another automatic place, and now face a tense wait to find out whether they can progress. The same applies to South Korea, who lost 1-0 to South Africa, who advance to the knockout stages for the first time in their history.

Mexico completed an impressive group stage by beating the Czech Republic 3-0, progressing with all three wins and keeping clean sheets. Their co-hosts Canada are also qualified but second in the group after a 2-1 defeat to Switzerland. Jesse Marsch's side face South Africa in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 28, the first match of the knockout stage. Switzerland finished first in Group B and are expected to be joined by Bosnia and Herzegovina, who finished third with four points after beating Qatar 3-1.

Here’s what happened on the 14th… Group A: Czech Republic 0-3 Mexico Group A: South Africa 1-0 South Korea Group B: Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-1 Qatar Group B: Switzerland 2-1 Canada Group C: Morocco 4-2 Haiti Group C: Scotland 0-3 Brazil.

At first glance, Brazil's 3-0 victory over Scotland was a job well done. A solid victory, confirmation of first place in the group, without additional injuries. All very well. However, as it is Brazil, things may not be so simple. Two of the predominant narratives about this Brazilian team have been Neymar's presence in the squad and Endrick's absence from the team. Let's deal with the second first: Endrick has become a noisy cause among many in Brazil, who believe he has the magic to liven up a team that, with one or two exceptions, is perceived as quite ordinary. Ancelotti gave little credence to the rumors that he would start the youngster, and there was even a feeling that he included him in the squad with a hint of reluctance, as the striker had forced his inclusion with some stellar performances in matches before the tournament.

And then we have Neymar. Ancelotti was definitely reluctant to take him, mainly for fear of his physical condition (a fear that was confirmed by the injury that left him out of Brazil's first two matches), but also because his best years appear to be behind him. Ultimately, Neymar was named in the 26-man squad for his influence on the rest of the players, or perhaps as an emergency option, thrown in in moments of desperation in the hope that he can turn back the clock once again. The problem is that both played and did well: not so well as to require presence in the next phase, but enough to keep the debate around them very active.

Of all the coaches at this World Cup, you'd bet Ancelotti could cut through the noise and do what he thinks is best. But by doing something seemingly sensible, giving a few minutes to two players who were on the sidelines in an already won game, may have made the noise even louder. Canada's loss to Switzerland, which meant they qualified for the World Cup knockout stages as the second team in their group rather than first, feels frustrating for a few reasons. First, first place would pit them against one of the teams finishing higher.third in the round of 32, while finishing runner-up gave them a theoretically much tougher game. Although South Africa finishing second in Group A may have alleviated that issue somewhat. But secondly, and perhaps just as importantly, it meant they gave up home advantage. If they had won their group they would have played in Vancouver, but now they must travel to Los Angeles, becoming the first World Cup hosts to play a game as visitors.


Hosting a World Cup has its pros and cons. The hosts have not won since 1998, but that is partly due to the fact that most 20th century World Cups were held in nations that would not otherwise be expected to triumph. However, better-than-expected performances by South Korea in 2002 and Russia in 2018 were arguably influenced by home-field advantage. Canada lost that advantage, and while they would have played in America at some point if they had advanced further in the tournament (there are no games north of the border beyond the round of 32), they wasted a huge opportunity. The 2026 World Cup co-hosts now have to negotiate a complicated away game.

Anyone who has ever camped out by their mailbox or constantly refreshed their email because they were waiting for big news will sympathize with Scotland (and to a lesser extent South Korea) this week. After disappointing results in their respective last group matches, these teams finished third in their groups and must now wait until Saturday night, when all group matches have finished, to find out if they can progress to the knockout stages. Bosnia and Herzegovina must also technically wait, but with four points they will, barring something incredibly unlikely, be one of the eight best teams finishing third.

Korea's prospects are reasonable. With three points and a goal difference of -1, The Athletic's third-party tracker gives them a 96% chance of progression. For the Scots, the situation is different: they have three points, with a goal difference of -3, and our predictions put their chances of progress at 38%. These next few days will be excruciating. All they can do is sit and wait. They can't even plan with great certainty because they don't really know who or where they will be playing, even if they qualify. It could be against Germany in Boston on Monday. It could be against Mexico in Mexico City on Monday. Or — and this is the least likely option — it could be against France or Norway in New Jersey on Tuesday. Five potential opponents, three possible destinations, two potential dates, an abyss of uncertainty.

"Hopefully the journey isn't over," Scottish midfielder John McGinn told ITV after the game. The wait will be horrible. There is nothing but pride at stake in one of the Group D matches as the USA face Turkey: the former will finish top of the group while the latter will finish last, so the only significant question ahead of the encounter in Los Angeles is about the condition of Christian Pulisic's calf. But there are many risks in the other match: Australia and Paraguay are both withthree points before they meet in San Francisco, so whoever wins will join the USA in the next round, while the losers will have to wait. This is one of the matches where there can be a mutually beneficial outcome. If they draw, Australia will automatically advance, but four points will almost certainly be enough for Paraguay to progress as one of the best third-placed teams.

Finally, in Group E, Germany's place at the top is guaranteed, but their opponents, Ecuador, have just one point and need to win to have any chance of advancing, either automatically or as third placed. Ivory Coast only needs a draw against Curaçao: if they finish level on four points with Ecuador, they will advance on a head-to-head basis. Finally, in Group F, where practically anything can happen. Tunisia is out: even if they beat the Netherlands and Sweden lose to Japan, the Swedes have that 5-1 win in the opening game that will take them through. But beyond that, the Dutch and Japan are on four points and Sweden on three, so all three teams could finish in any of the three positions depending on how things pan out. It could be chaos: stay tuned.

Thursday's games: Curacao v Ivory Coast (4pm ET, 9pm BST), Ecuador v Germany (4pm ET, 9pm BST), Japan v Sweden (7pm ET, 12am BST), Tunisia v Netherlands (7pm ET, 9pm BST), Turkey v USA (10pm ET, 3am BST), Paraguay v Australia (10pm ET, 3am BST). BST).

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