Haiti v Scotland: World Cup 2026 – live

It's a veritable sea of salmon here.

Gannon-Doak cuts in from the right again and lays it back to McTominay on the edge of the box. His curling shot strikes the foot of the post with Placide was beaten.

16 min Chance for Wilson Isidor as he attacks a wicked cross from the Haiti left but Hendry does well to get his body across and wins a free-kick off the Sunderland frontman.

14 mins Drab end to that Haiti attack as Bellegarde's plan for the free-kick was seemingly misunderstood by his teammates and dribbles out of play harmlessly.

13 min The last few minutes have been one-way traffic for Haiti. Scotland can't get out and Ché Adams gives away a free-kick 35 yards out, quite straight. Bellegarde over it.

11 min Haiti are pressing with real purpose when they get the chance. Having turned over the ball to win a throw-in, Wolves man Jean-Ricner Bellegarde fires over the bar from just outside the box. Not a clean strike.

10 min With the retro numbers and the Adidas trefoil that really is a lovely Scotland kit.

7 min First look at goal for McTominay as he gets up highest to meet Andy Robertson's cross. The Napoli man is maybe too towering, the header goes well over the bar. A word for the lovely backheel from John McGinn in the buildup, too.

6 min Louicius Deedson nicks the ball in midfield and carries upfield before scuffing a shot well wide. This will be the Haiti threat, you feel.

5 mins The noise when Scotland get the ball in promising positions is incredible. Not much doubt who this crowd is cheering for.

3 min Scotland enjoying some early possession and Ben Gannon-Doak cuts in from the right and has his side's first effort, an easy one for Johny Placide in the Haitian goal.

Scotland get us underway in Foxborough and Jack Hendry kicks for touch giving Scotland early territory. Nice bit of rugby.

No two ways about it, Flower of Scotland slaps.

Scotland in their change pink kit, which appears to be very popular in the stands too. More pink shirts than the Scots' traditional dark navy.

The hype videos are hyping in Foxborough, I'm not surprised that Boston Stadium looks packed. There's a large Haitian diaspora on the east coast of the US and Scotland fans have travelled in big numbers. Anthems next.

‘We can do much': how feeling for family helped end Haiti's long World Cup absence

Tamy Michel grew up watching her father run a football club through prison, political upheaval and the endless uncertainties of life in Haiti.

Solange Michel spent 18 years leading Baltimore SC, one of the country's most storied clubs. In the 1990s, he was jailed amid the turmoil that engulfed Haitian politics but the club survived. Later, Tamy Michel's aunt, Simone Desvarieux, took over. The family have been stewards of Haitian football since 1974.

Today, Michel represents players at the highest levels of the global game, from Ricardo Adé, the defensive leader of the Ecuadorian powerhouse LDU Quito, to Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Wilson Isidor, coming off Premier League seasons, and Haiti's record goalscorer, Duckens Nazon.

Read Bryan Armen Graham's profile of this Haiti team here:

More mail. “I mean, we could be top of the group, but as I immediately thought after the end of Brazil-Morocco, what if we're bottom?†– James Humphries

While Fifa has taken a hands-off approach to trivial matters such as visas for tournament referees and the Iran delegation, it did see fit to get involved in the really big issue: Haiti's kit.

Haitian Football Federation has been made to find new jerseys on the eve of the 2026 World Cup, after Fifa deemed certain elements to be too political in nature.

The point of contention resided on the shirt's right hip, which depicted silhouettes inspired by the Battle of Vertières and the Haitian revolution. In 1803, revolutionary leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who later became the nation's first emperor, tore the white band off of a French flag to create a new flag for “the world's first free Black republicâ€. The moment is commemorated throughout the nation every 18 May as Haitian Flag Day.

The iconography appears on all three of Haiti's shirts released by Saeta released ahead of the tournament, but has now been removed from the kits the players will wear during the tournament.

More on this story from Jeff Rueter:

Ewan says there are still large numbers of fans outside Boston Stadium. Here's his view from inside the venue:

Tartan Army toast Scotland's World Cup return: ‘It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity'

Sam Adams is the beer of Boston, named after a founding father of the United States who was the fourth governor of Massachusetts. Downtown, there's a tap room where you can drink it all day. On Thursday lunchtime the bar was packed, full of Scotland fans, and hanging over the first-floor balcony was a big yellow flag. It bore the legend “Remember Bannockburn 1314â€.

Of all the bases the Tartan Army could have found for their World Cup journey, it had to be the city renowned for chasing the English out of town. Supporters dressed like William Wallace have been bonding with tour guides dressed as Paul Revere.

Others have been walking around wearing “Boston T Party†T-shirts, where the T stands for Tennent's. Meanwhile, next to the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Scottish Football Association has rebranded a local pub as Scotland House, and even had it sponsored by M&S Food.

Paul MacInnes has been spending some time with the Scotland fans in Boston:

Pre-match postbag. “I confess I was a wee bit worried after the first 10 minutes of the Brazil v Morocco game, because they were running about jolly quickly and firing balls into the net with great panache. The longer it's gone on though the more confident I feel. I suspect we'll confuse them by playing what they might think is a different sport†– Scott Blair

“I'm English and living down under in Melbourne. We are actually getting a whole bunch of games at reasonable times as we normally have to watch intentional games at 2am. I'm enjoying tea and toast over breakfast games and looking forward to hearing the Scots belt out Flower of Scotland, always a spine tingling experience, even for and Englishman.†– Simon Dobson

“All I can say is ‘SHOOooooot' and we'll be bonnie.†– Richard in the New Zealand sunshine.

Keep your emails coming via the link at the top of the page.

That 1-1 draw between Morocco and Brazil means Scotland can top of the group with a win against Haiti. If there wasn't already enough tension.

Get the live reaction to the Group C opener in New Jersey with Jeff Rueter:

Haiti's all-time record scorer Duckens Nazon maybe be familiar to fans of Wolves, Coventry City, Oldham Athletic and St Mirren, in addition to nine other clubs across two different continents, but probably not many others. Here's a quick crib sheet from our in-depth player guide:

Ewan has fired over his thoughts on the Scotland team from his position at the Boston Stadium (in Foxborough):

One change to the Scotland team that beat Bolivia last week as John McGinn replaces Ryan Christie in midfield. Steve Clarke goes old school 4-4-2. Gunn; Hickey, Hanley, Hendry, Robertson; Gannon-Doak, McTominay, Ferguson, McGinn; Shankland, Adams.

Predictions were that Haitian fans would outnumber Scots inside the stadium but Scotland strips (the pink away one, mainly) dominate the scene so far.

Haiti XI: Placide, Arcus, Ade, Delcroix, Experience, Deedson, Jean Jacques, Bellegarde, Providence, Pierrot, Isidor.
Subs: Alexandre Pierre, Duverger, Thermoncy, Sainte, Etienne, Nazon, Lacroix, Metusala, Joseph, Fortune, Casimir, Duverne, Paugain, Simon, Woodensky Pierre.

Scotland XI: Gunn, Hickey, Hendry, Hanley, Robertson, Doak, McTominay, Ferguson, McGinn, Shankland, Adams.
Subs: Kelly, Gordon, Tierney, Fletcher, Dykes, Christie, Stewart, Souttar, Hyam, Hirst, Patterson, McLean, Ralston, Curtis, McKenna.

Scotland bid to exorcise World Cup ghosts by breaking group stage barrier

It is not only ghosts from Costa Rica, Peru, Iran or Zaire that haunt Scotland as they prepare for a long-awaited World Cup return. Instead, there is a broader pattern of failure that Steve Clarke and his class of 2026 need to extricate the nation from. From 23 games on football's biggest stage, the Scots have won only four times. The expansion of the World Cup should assist them, a team who now and correctly regard merely qualifying for major tournaments as insufficient.

Scotland were unbeaten in 1974 yet took an early path home from West Germany. More than 50 years later, a comfortable win over Haiti should be enough to seal progression to the last 32. It is impossible to shake the notion that Scotland's World Cup fate is dependent on game one in Boston against a side who lack nothing in national cause. Haiti's pace and physicality will cause some tartan tremors. Nonetheless, taking on the 83rd-ranked team in the world with history-making on the line is an appetising deal.

Read Ewan Murray's preview in full here:

How's your knowledge of Haiti?
If you need a little bit of a brush up then I strongly recommend Pierre Richard Midy's team guide:

I know it's very late in Scotland, but if you are following along in the wee hours, do get in touch via the link at the top of the page.

Don't get humped!

That was the tongue-in-cheek response from Steve Clarke when asked about Scotland's lessons from their past tournament openers. The 5-1 defeat against Germany two years ago still stings, clearly.

“Obviously we know the last two tournaments haven't gone the way that we wanted them to go,†added Clarke.

“We have another chance, and that's credit to the players that they keep qualifying for these major tournaments. It's great to be here, but we also want to do something special.â€

The other key theme from Clarke's pre-match press conference was the importance of Scott McTominay. Clarke joked about picking the Napoli man to play centre-half for Scotland previously and compared McTominay's now talismanic status to that which Gareth Bale shouldered for Wales. However, the former West Brom manager was keen to stress that Scotland are not a one-man team.

“I think I've got 26 superstars here,†said Clarke. “I think to try and put so much onto one person isn't fair. We have built everything over the last seven years as a squad. That's everybody being together and everybody playing their part at certain times.

“Some daft coach played Scott as a centre-half five years ago. But obviously he's not a centre-half. And since moving further forward he's done great for us.

“No, we're delighted with Scott's abilities and what he can bring to the team. But we're going to need another 15 to bring the same if we want to have a positive tournaments.â€

Back when Kenny McClean put the cherry on the cake of Scotland's dramatic playoff win against Denmark in November, the concept of this game was a cause for wild celebration, but now, facing World Cup minnows Haiti, this game represents opportunity. A win, especially one by a convincing scoreline, will go a long way to ensuring Scotland get the group stage-shaped monkey off their back.

There will be nerves among the Tartan Army in Foxborough and those watching from afar, but the preparations for Steve Clarke's side have gone very well. Eight goals scored against in warmup games against Bolivia and Curaçao, one conceded, crucially Scott McTominay has gotten over a tummy ache to ensure his manager has a full complement to choose from. McTominay's new advert with Adidas is also a triumph and these are the things that really matter in setting ‘the vibe'.

More seriously, the makeup of the forward line is the big pre-match question for Clarke. Lawrence Shankland has been in hot form and Ché Adams did well alongside the new Rangers striker against Bolivia. Given the opportunity against Haiti, fielding a similarly attacking side to the XI that started in New Jersey could be a risk worth taking.

Haiti impressed in their 4-0 against New Zealand but were less hot against Peru, losing 2-1. There chances rest on the ability of Sunderland's Wilson Isidor and their talisman Duckens Nazon to trouble the Scottish backline when they get a chance on the break.

Team news at 1am BST/8pm EST/10am AEST.