Form and Line-up Brazil National Team
Brazil approach the 2026 World Cup as a wounded beast. Having finished a disastrous fifth in South American qualifying by their standards, Selecao were forced to take drastic measures. The federation entrusted the job to Carlo Ancelotti. The experienced Italian quickly restored order in the dressing room, becoming an unquestioned authority for the temperamental European stars, and began bringing back the team's distinctive samba style.
The first fruits of the rebuild appeared in spring 2026: Brazil produced a powerful attacking performance, beating Egypt (2:1), thrashing Panama (6:2) and confidently seeing off Croatia (3:1). The March 1:2 defeat to France was the setback.
Ancelotti is relying on a hybrid 4-2-3-1 model with active full-backs and a rock-solid midfield. The squad is packed with stars: Alisson in goal, Marquinhos and Gabriel in defence, as well as the evergreen Casemiro in the holding role. The main attacking threat is concentrated up front, with Vinicius Junior and Raphinha on the flanks, and young Endrick, Manchester United's Matheus Cunha or Neymar, who is likely to miss the opening round, through the middle.
Key numbers for Brazil national team:
Brazil, along with Argentina, are the fourth contenders to win the World Cup (odds 9.00).
Bookmakers rate Brazil as favourites in Group C (odds 1.30), as they have finished first in their group at 11 consecutive World Cups (since 1982).
In March 2023, they lost to Morocco in a friendly by a 1:2 scoreline.
Vinicius Junior, Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi are fifth in the bookmakers' list to win the top-scorer race (odds 20.00).
Probable line-up (4-2-3-1): Alisson - Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhaes, Alex Sandro - Casemiro, Bruno Guimaraes - Raphinha, Lucas Paqueta, Vinicius Junior - Matheus Cunha
Absentees: Neymar (doubtful), Ederson of Atalanta has been called up instead of Wesley (groin injury)
Form and Line-up Morocco National Team
Morocco national team (the Atlas Lions) have long since stopped being merely a bright surprise package. Having taken eighth place in the FIFA rankings, the African side confirmed their status as a top team by going through 2026 World Cup qualifying with a perfect record - eight wins in eight matches. However, in March 2026, there was major upheaval in the team: Walid Regragui, the architect of the Qatar miracle, resigned because of burnout after the Africa Cup of Nations final defeat, although Morocco were later recognised as champions. He was urgently replaced by 49-year-old Mohamed Ouahbi, who last year led Morocco's youth team to World Cup gold.
In friendlies, Morocco showed excellent football - in recent meetings they beat Madagascar (4:0), Burundi (5:0), a solid Paraguay side (2:1), and only drew with Norway (1:1).
Morocco are known for exemplary, suffocating discipline without the ball and lightning-fast counter-attacks. The defensive foundation remains Al Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, while captain Achraf Hakimi drives the flanks and has become a set-piece specialist for the national team. The face of the new generation and the key creative force is Real Madrid midfielder Brahim Diaz. After missing a penalty in the winter AFCON final, Diaz can redeem himself on the pitches of the United States. In attack, Ayoub El Kaabi, who has scored 20 goals for Olympiacos this season, or PSV's Ismael Saibari, with 19+9, will provide the spark.
Key numbers for Morocco national team:
According to bookmakers, Morocco will perform better than all the African national teams at the World Cup (odds 3.25).
Morocco are priced at 4.30 to win Group C, and 1.12 to reach the knockout stage.
During the qualifying campaign, they scored 22 goals and conceded only twice.
They have reached a third consecutive World Cup, and in 2022 they finished fourth after losing to Croatia (1:2).
Probable line-up (4-2-3-1): Yassine Bounou - Achraf Hakimi, Issa Diop, Chadi Riad, Youssef Belammari - Sofyan Amrabat, Neil El Aynaoui - Brahim Diaz, Azzedine Ounahi, Sofiane Rahimi - Ismael Saibari
Absentees: Abde Ezzalzouli, Noussair Mazraoui (both doubtful)














