Scotland Beats Haiti in Victorious Return to World Cup

Scotland made its return to the World Cup stage on June 13 after a 28-year hiatus, and etched its place at the top of its four-team group with a 1–0 win against Haiti. 

While Haiti maintained momentum for most of the 90-minute match in Boston Stadium—normally known as Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots—Scotland’s John McGinn was the only player on the pitch to find the back of the net. 

At approximately the 28-minute mark, the midfielder launched the ball from the top of Haiti’s penalty box and sent it bounding off at least one defender before crossing the line and sending the tens of thousands of Scotland fans into elated celebration. 

The Haitian team, which made its return after failing to qualify for more than 50 years, had several chances to equalize the game but failed due to either disruption from the Scottish defense or missing the net entirely. 

Scotland’s win means that it is now leading its four-team group after earning all three available points in the day’s win. Along with Haiti, the Scots are in the same group as Brazil, a multiple World-Cup-winning powerhouse, and the up-and-coming Morocco.  

However, Brazil was unable to come away from its match with Morocco at New York New Jersey Stadium earlier in the day with anything more than a 1–1 draw. Morocco’s Ismael Saibari drew first blood, scoring the opening goal 21 minutes into play after his team held the game’s momentum early. Brazil’s Vinícius Júnior scored the equalizer 11 minutes later, and attending fans of both sides sat through a scoreless second half. 

Scotland leads Group C with three points. Brazil and Morocco both take home one point due to their draw, and Haiti trails behind with zero points.

Meanwhile, though, Group B is under a four-way tie after all four teams open the tournament with a draw. 

Following Team Canada’s draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto on June 12, Qatar and Switzerland faced off in San Francisco on June 13 and also ended their game in a tie. The Swiss scored first and retained control for most of the game, but Qatar got a shot across the goal line in the 5th minute of stoppage time at the end of the second half. 

Group A has Mexico and South Korea tied with three points apiece after they beat South Africa and Czechia, respectively, in their opening games. 

Team USA earned the full three points of its opening game, after dominating Paraguay 4–1 on June 12. But whether or not it retains the lead in its group will be determined by the results of Australia’s bout against Turkey at midnight ET on June 14. 

World Cup 2026 has a total of 12 four-team groups, and many others are set to play their first games in the coming days. 

The top two teams in each group and top eight third-place finishers overall will advance from the group stage to the first elimination round of 32.