Vinícius Jr & Estêvão · Neymar Fitness Watch · The Seleção's Philadelphia Statement
Brazil are always Brazil — the weight of the yellow jersey, the expectation of the samba football, the assumption that anything less than lifting the trophy is failure. Vinícius Jr is the superstar at the centre of everything, a Ballon d'Or contender with Real Madrid, playing his best football right now. Rodrygo, Raphinha, Endrick, and the 17-year-old Estêvão (Chelsea's most expensive signing ever, loaned back to Palmeiras) provide astonishing attacking depth.
Casemiro holds the midfield. Militão and Marquinhos anchor the defence. Dorival Júnior won the Copa América in 2024 with this squad before being sacked after a heavy qualifying loss to Argentina; Carlo Ancelotti, the Seleção's first permanent foreign coach, has been in charge since May 2025. Haiti are making their World Cup debut — this is their first time at this stage. Brazil will win this match comfortably. The only story is by how many, and whether Neymar plays a single minute.
Haiti's World Cup debut. In a group with Brazil, Morocco, and Scotland, the Grenadiers qualified via the CONCACAF path and arrive with enormous pride and minimal expectation. Frantzdy Pierrot leads the attack. Duckens Nazon provides the most recognisable name from European football — he played in Ligue 2 and various European leagues before returning to Caribbean football.
Marc Collat's side will defend with everything they have, make themselves hard to break down, and try to create something on set pieces. They won't win this. But Haiti at a World Cup is itself a story worth telling — a country that loves football deeply and has produced talented players for decades finally on the world stage.