ALEX CROOK WORLD CUP PREVIEW: Haiti v Scotland

It is the day Scotland have been waiting 28 long and painful years for as they finally return to the world stage against Haiti in Boston in the early hours of Sunday morning UK time, writes ALEX CROOK.

There is a whole generation of Scots who have never seen their country compete at a World Cup and the Tartan Army have flocked to the USA in their droves.

Steve Clarke has already laid claim to being the most successful manager in Scotland’s history by leading them to a third major tournament.

Clarke now has a golden opportunity to succeed where his predecessors have failed by qualifying for the knockout stages for the first time.

Clarke’s men have been placed in a difficult group alongside Morocco, surprise semi-finalists from your years ago, and the mighty Brazil, who they faced in their opener in 1998.

But the fixtures have fallen kindly for them in that they face their weakest opponent first up, knowing one victory could be enough to progress.

Scotland’s preparation for the tournament has been positive, scoring eight goals in their two warm-up games against Curacao and Bolivia.

Clarke has been criticised by Scotland followers for being too negative at both their home Euros in 2021 and two years ago in Germany.

It was pleasing then to see him adopt a positive 4-4-2 formation in those two recent matches, presumably in preparation for a game where the onus is on the Scots to bolster their goal difference as well as pick up three previous points.

Much could depend on getting Bournemouth’s Ben Gannon-Doak on the ball as much as possible, as he looks like the main supply line for the likes of Chelsea Adams up front.

Haiti are playing at their first World Cup since 1974 and only their second ever. They are technically competent but not expected to do any more than make up the numbers in the group.

They lost their final pre-World Cup friendly to Peru but did thrash New Zealand 4-0 in their previous preparation game.

In Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor and Wolves midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellarde they have at least two players who will be familiar to Premier League watchers.

Isidor has only played four games for the Caribbeans but has scored twice. At 15/4 with starsports.bet to score at any time, he is worth a small play.

However, having tipped him up in my in-depth ante-post preview to be Scotland’s top-scorer, my main selection is Napoli midfielder Scott McTominay to find the back of the net at 11/8 with starsports.bet

With pressure on Clarke’s troops to go on the front foot, I am also going for a Scotland win and over 2.5 goals in the game, which pays 7/5 with starsports.bet.

Check out the latest episode of THE INSIDE CHANNEL – a new football podcast with Alex Crook and Sam Matterface running throughout the 2026 World Cup!

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BEST BET: Scotland to win and over 2.5 goals 1pt at 7/5 (⭐ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
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LONG SHOT: Wilson Isidor to score at any time 0.5pts at 15/4 (⭐ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)