World Cup 2026: Day 9 Group C Recap

Day 9 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup has ended, and with Group C’s 2nd round of matches playing out on Friday night, we're finally getting a glimpse at how some of these groups and the knockout rounds could shape up. 

Up in Boston, where The Tartan Army has captured the hearts of people in the city and made themselves right at home, Scotland and Morocco squared off at 6 pm before Vini Jr and Brazil took the field against Haiti, and Philadelphia Union’s Danley Jean-Jacques down in South Philadelphia a little later in the night. 

General view inside the stadium before the match

Brian Snyder

World Cup Group C - Matchday 2

Morocco 1 - 0 Scotland 

The Tartan Army, who were victorious in their first match of the 2026 World Cup with a 1-0 win over Haiti, came into Round 2 of Group Stage play knowing their chances of advancing to the Knockout rounds were high, but would improve dramatically with a win or a draw over Morocco on Friday night.  On the other side of the pitch, Morocco’s draw against Brazil in the opening match meant they’d likely need a win or at minimum a draw against Scotland if they had hopes of finishing top 2 of Group C. 

It didn’t take long for Morocco to get on the board. Just 70 seconds into the game, Brahim Diaz, with the ball along the sideline, chipped the ball over the defense for Ismael Saibari, making a run behind the backline. Saibari ran onto the ball inside the penalty area, took a touch towards the net, and fired a right-footed rocket past the keeper's ear and into the far corner to give Morocco an early 1-0 lead, his 2nd goal of the tournament. 

Morocco's Ismael Saibari scores their first goal

Brian Snyder

Morocco got close to doubling their lead shortly after Saibari provided it with the first.  Azzedine Ounahi flashed an inviting ball across the face of the goal, but it evaded both targets waiting out front.  In the 36th minute, Saibari slid a ball over to Bilal El Khannouss, but his attempt sailed high and wide. El Khannouss would get an opportunity to make amends for his miss in the 51st minute, but the shot that was partially blocked was denied by the crossbar. 

Scotland's Scott McTominay looks dejected after the match

DAVID BUTLER II

Scotland got a half-decent chance at equalizing just before half-time when Andy Robertonson sent a loose ball through the middle of the box and connected with John McGinn at the backpost, but his attempt to put the ball in the net soared wide. In the 82nd minute, Scotland had shouts for a penalty after Scott McTominay was seemingly tripped in the box, but the referee waved the appeals away. McTominay got one more chance in the 96th minute to draw Scotland level, but his right-footed shot from inside the box was blocked and deflected into the outside netting of the goal. 

Morocco’s win gives them 4 points in the standings, which puts them in 2nd place in Group C heading into their final match of the group stage, where they’ll face off against Haiti. 

Brazil 3 - 0 Haiti

Group C action on Friday night ended in Philadelphia with a Juneteenth match between Brazil, the most successful team in World Cup history, and Haiti, celebrating its first World Cup appearance in 52 years. 

General view inside the stadium as the teams line up with young mascots during the national anthems before the match

Jeenah Moon

Outside the gates of Philadelphia Stadium was a scene that even the most anticipated Eagles’ games don’t produce.  While a massive sea of Yellow occupied Stateside Live! hours before kickoff, the fans of Haiti in the Red and Blue climbed on a set of “Philly” block letter signs to sing, dance, and make noise for their country’s team being back on the World stage.

The Haitian fans sang and danced for nearly two hours prior to kick-off, but once things got started on the field, it was mostly fans in Yellow that got to celebrate. Matheus Cunha got his name on the scoresheet for the first time in the 2026 World Cup after a loose ball and a failed clearance deflected off Cunha and into the back of the net. 

Brazil's Endrick scores a goal past Haiti's Johny Placide that was later disallowed for offside

OMAR AZIZ

Cunha grabbed his 2nd and doubled Brazil’s lead 13 minutes later in the 36th minute after receiving a through ball from Vinicius Jr that put him behind the backline.  Cunha touched the ball once to separate himself from defenders and with his 2nd fired the ball past the Haitian goalkeeper to extend Brazil’s lead. 

Just before the halftime whistle, it was Vinícius Júnior who put a cap on the night after being sent behind Haiti’s backline with a ball over the top by Lucas Paquetá. Vinícius ran onto the ball, strolled in on net, and slid the shot past Johny Placide to give Brazil a 3-0 lead and ultimately 3 points on the night. 

Brazil's Vinicius Junior scores their third goal

JAMES LANG

Despite being down 3-0 and essentially eliminated from Knockout contention, Haitian fans could be seen making noise, singing, and dancing with Brazilian fans in the stands throughout the 2nd half, enjoying every moment of their first World Cup in 52 years.

The win moves Brazil to the top spot in Group C with 4 points and a +3 goal differential. Their final game of the Group Stage will be against Scotland, who have a good chance of advancing as one of the 3rd-place teams. 

The loss for Haiti all but ends their hopes of reaching the knockout stage. They'll face off against Morocco in their final Group Stage game, who will be looking to end the Group Stage on a high note and lock up a top-2 finish in Group C. 

Day 9, Group C, Round-up:

Day 10 Schedule: