Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Neymar is ready to play the full 90 minutes of the Selecao's final World Cup group game against Scotland. Neymar missed his country's opening fixtures against Morocco and Haiti due to a calf injury, but Ancelotti says that the Santos star is finally back to full fitness and eager to make his mark.
Joao Cancelo has passionately defended his team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo and Brazil star Neymar from intense media criticism at the World Cup. The Portugal defender insists that both players have already cemented their legacies in football and do not need to prove their worth to anyone, despite Ronaldo's slow start and Neymar's recent injury woes in the tournament.
Brazil icon Roberto Carlos believes the Selecao are ready to turn a corner at the 2026 World Cup provided they can successfully reintegrate Neymar into the starting XI. Speaking during the tournament in North America, the legendary left-back offered a candid assessment of the current squad compared to rivals Argentina while backing Carlo Ancelotti’s side to make a deep run.
Scott McTominay has become a talismanic presence for Scotland and Napoli, but will the former Manchester United midfielder fancy another shot at life in the Premier League? Kenny Miller has explained to GOAL why the revitalised 29-year-old has no need to consider a retracing of steps at club level after finding professional and personal dreams to live in Italy.
Brazil have received a massive boost at the 2026 World Cup as talismanic forward Neymar has returned to the training pitch. After missing the first two fixtures due to a calf problem, the Santos superstar is now being fast-tracked for a return to action in the final Group C match against Scotland.
Achraf Hakimi was subjected to relentless booing from a large contingent of Scotland supporters during Morocco's narrow 1-0 World Cup victory at the Gillette Stadium. The hostile reception intensified throughout the match as the Paris Saint-Germain full-back captained his country, coming just days after major developments in his personal life.
Scotland suffered a potentially damaging 1-0 defeat to Morocco in their second match of the 2026 World Cup in Boston, meaning they will need to take something from their final Group C clash against Brazil to stand any chance of reaching the last 32. Steve Clarke's side fell behind inside two minutes, and in truth they never recovered.
Brazil are facing the prospect of navigating the entire World Cup group stage without Neymar as the medical staff prioritises his long-term fitness. The Selecao talisman is battling to recover from a significant muscle injury, with coaching staff now focusing on a return for the knockout rounds.
John McGinn was the hero in Boston as Scotland finally ended their 36-year wait for a World Cup victory with a gritty 1-0 win over Haiti. The Aston Villa star remains the talisman for Steve Clarke’s side, netting the decisive goal to put the Scots in pole position in Group C - and revealing the pre-match vow that fueled his fearless performance.
Scotland waited 28 years for this. Haiti waited five decades. In a match between two sides desperate to make their World Cup return count, John McGinn provided the moment that mattered, turning a lucky bounce into the lone goal as the Tartan Army escaped Boston Stadium with a 1-0 win, Scotland’s first victory at the tournament since Italia ’90.
There were just seconds to go in Liverpool's 1-0 win over Manchester City at Anfield on October 16, 2022 when Diogo Jota pulled up with a muscular problem that left the Portuguese in agony. Jurgen Klopp feared the worst right away: "If Diogo stays down it is never good." And it wasn't. Jota had sustained a calf injury that would sideline him for months, rather than weeks, thus ruling him out of Portugal's 2022 World Cup campaign.
The World Cup is now just a few hours away, with teams currently making their final preparations for the tournament in North America. The stage is set for a whole host of players to make themselves national heroes, including some of the most exciting youngsters in the game today.
It's so close you can almost touch it. After years of build-up, the 2026 World Cup will kick-off on Thursday when co-hosts Mexico face off against South Africa in a repeat of the opening game from 2010. Over the next five-and-a-half weeks, records will be broken and legacies rewritten as a number of modern greats do battle to win the most recognisable trophy in all of sport.
The widow of late Liverpool forward Diogo Jota has sent a deeply moving letter to Scotland captain Andy Robertson ahead of the upcoming World Cup. Rute Cardoso urged the left-back to carry the memory and unfulfilled international dreams of his former Anfield team-mate, who tragically passed away following a road accident.
Scotland's World Cup preparations have been hit by an incredible war of words following the late cancellation of a behind-closed-doors friendly against Norway. The decision has left Scandinavian officials fuming, with stinging accusations of unprofessionalism directed at Steve Clarke and the Scottish FA.
FIFA has announced a significant protocol modification that will see every squad member take part in the pre-match national anthems at the upcoming World Cup. Moving away from traditional sporting custom, football's global governing body has mandated that both starting line-ups and substitutes congregate together on the pitch ahead of kick-off.
Scotland
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