Word Cup draw: Scotland will meet old acquaintance Brazil again

Half of Scotland's World Cup participations have featured clashes against Brazil.

Scotland will face Brazil in their third group stage match at the 2026 World Cup - the match dates will be defined next Saturday (6th). The Scots will be the only Europeans that Brazil will face in Group C.

This will be the fifth time the Scots have crossed paths with Brazil at World Cups. Apart from the draw in the first encounter in 1974 - when Scotland were only eliminated on goal difference - Brazil won the others. All matches took place in the group stage.

The history of Brazil vs Scotland

Scotland 1-1 Brazil – Friendly in 1966
Brazil 1-0 Scotland – Friendly in 1972
Scotland 0-1 Brazil – Friendly in 1973
Scotland 0-0 Brazil – 1974 World Cup
Brazil 2-0 Scotland – Friendly in 1977
Brazil 4-1 Scotland – 1982 World Cup
Scotland 0-2 Brazil – Friendly in 1987
Brazil 1-0 Scotland – 1990 World Cup
Brazil 2-1 Scotland – 1998 World Cup
Scotland 0-2 Brazil – Friendly in 2011

Scotland's path to the World Cup

Alongside Morocco and Haiti in Brazil's group, Scotland arrive at the World Cup as leaders of their qualifying group in European Qualifiers, leaving behind Denmark, Greece and Belarus.

There were only six qualifying matches, with four wins, one draw and one defeat. Scotland's campaign had 13 goals scored and seven conceded, and the only defeat was to Greece, 3-2.

Qualification came in a dramatic match against Denmark in the final round, in a 4-2 victory, complete with a Danish sending-off. And before starting Qualifiers, they had mixed results in friendlies during the September FIFA international break: they beat Liechtenstein 4-0 and lost to Iceland 3-1.

There were only six qualifying matches - whilst other nations played 10, for example - due to their Nations League participation. Indeed, their participation was not positive.

In Group 1 of Nations League "Division A", Scotland faced Portugal, Croatia and Poland. They finished third in the group, did not progress to the knockout stage and fell into the relegation play-offs of the competition. On that occasion, they faced Greece and were relegated after defeat on aggregate score.

Euro 2024 was also not good for the Scots. They finished bottom of Group A without a single win: they were thrashed by Germany, lost to Hungary and drew with Switzerland in a disappointing participation.

Curiously, qualification for the Euros was positive - even surpassing Norway, the surprise of the pre-World Cup cycle. Scotland finished runners-up in Spain's group, six points ahead of Haaland's team, to qualify for the tournament.

Scottish national team highlights

Scotland have been managed since 2019 by Steve Clarke. The 62-year-old manager already has 74 matches in charge of the national team, with 35 wins, 25 defeats and 14 draws. 

The Scottish generation may not necessarily be feared, but has good names from different age groups. Andrew Robertson, Liverpool's historic left-back, is the main name alongside Scott McTominay, formerly of Manchester United who gained great prominence at Napoli - being champion and best player in Serie A last season.

The squad also has other good assets, mainly in midfield. Lewis Ferguson, Bologna midfielder, gained considerable notoriety in 2024 under Thiago Motta's command and is one of the most important in Scottish creation. Billy Gilmour is another who has been important in the national team for years and Ben Doak is one of the country's great prospects.

John McGinn, from Aston Villa, Kieran Tierney, formerly of Arsenal and now at Celtic, and Che Adams, from Torino, are also experienced names who contribute greatly to Steve Clarke's team.

Scotland's overall World Cup record

The Scottish national team have only participated in eight World Cups in their history so far: after two in succession in 1954, it took 20 years to qualify again and they had five consecutive World Cups between 1974 and 1990; then, their last appearance was in 1998.

Scotland have never progressed past the group stage. However, on three of the eight occasions, they came close to progressing, but were stopped on goal difference: in 1974, 1978 and 1982. Their main result in World Cup history was a 3-2 victory over the Netherlands in 1978, after the Dutch had enchanted the world in the previous edition.

Scotland's record against Brazil in history

Brazil and Scotland have faced each other 10 times in all history. The Europeans have never beaten the Selecao: there were two draws and eight Brazilian victories, with a goal difference of 13 in Brazil's favour.

Neymar and Zico are the fixture's leading scorers, with two goals each.

This article was originally published on Trivela.