Morocco will look to seal their place in the World Cup knockout stages when they face already-eliminated Haiti in their final Group C fixture on Wednesday in Atlanta.
The Atlas Lions sit in a strong position after taking four points from their opening two matches, while Haiti’s hopes of progression were ended following successive defeats to Scotland and Brazil.
Morocco opened their campaign with an impressive 1-1 draw against Brazil before following that up with a 1-0 victory over Scotland. Ismael Saibari proved the difference against the Scots, scoring after just 70 seconds to continue his excellent start to the tournament.
Ranked sixth in the world, Morocco are widely regarded as one of the tournament’s dark horses after their historic run to the semi-finals in Qatar four years ago.
Victory on Wednesday would guarantee a top-two finish and automatic qualification for the round of 32. Even a draw could be enough depending on the outcome of Scotland’s meeting with Brazil.
The Atlas Lions will also be confident given their remarkable recent form. They are unbeaten in their last 31 matches across all competitions, winning 26 and drawing five.
Haiti, meanwhile, are playing only for pride after becoming the first nation officially eliminated from the 2026 World Cup.
Les Grenadiers narrowly lost 1-0 to Scotland in their opening fixture before suffering a 3-0 defeat against Brazil, where they conceded all three goals before half-time.
Currently ranked 87th in the world, Haiti are still searching for their first point and first goal in World Cup history. Defeat here would leave them with six losses from six World Cup matches, matching El Salvador’s unwanted record of a 100% defeat rate at the tournament.
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World Cup 2026: Morocco v Haiti team news
Morocco have no new injury concerns and could name an unchanged starting lineup for a third consecutive match.
Ismael Saibari is expected to continue leading the attack alongside Brahim Diaz, while midfield trio Ayyoub Bouaddi, Neil El Aynaoui and Azzedine Ounahi should retain their places.
Captain Achraf Hakimi is set to make his 99th international appearance, with Yassine Bounou continuing in goal behind a settled defensive unit.
Sofyan Amrabat may once again begin on the bench.
For Haiti, all-time leading scorer Duckens Nazon remains a doubt due to an unspecified injury issue.
Head coach Sebastien Migne could switch back to a more attacking 4-4-2 formation after using a defensive setup against Brazil.
Wilson Isidor may partner Frantzdy Pierrot in attack, while Johny Placide is expected to captain the side from goal.
Morocco v Haiti: World Cup 2026 predicted line-ups
Morocco starting XI: Bono; Hakimi, Diop, Riad, Mazraoui; El Aynaoui, Bouaddi; Diaz, Ounahi, El Khannouss; Saibari
Haiti starting XI: Placide; Arcus, Delcroix, Ade, Experience; Deedson, Bellegarde, Jean Jacques, Providence; Isidor, Pierrot
Where to watch Morocco v Haiti: TV channel, live online streams
Kick-off on Wednesday is at 23:00 BST (18:00 ET / 15:00 PT). In the UK, live coverage is on BBC Two.
Streaming on a vast range of devices is available through the BBC iPlayer app and BBC Sport website.
World Cup 2026: Morocco v Haiti stats
- Three of Morocco’s last 13 World Cup matches have come against non-European teams, with no side playing as many games at the tournament against European opposition since the 2018 finals
- Morocco are unbeaten in their last six group stage matches at the World Cup (W3 D3), which is the best run by an African nation: Cameroon were unbeaten in five between 1982 and 1990 and Senegal had five unbeaten group games between 2002 and 2018
- Their fourth-placed finish in 2022 was Morocco’s best-ever performance at the finals and the best by any African nation
- Reigning African Footballer of the Year Achraf Hakimi made more tackles (26) than any other player at the 2022 World Cup and recorded the second-most ground duels won (41)
- Midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi was France Under-21 captain until the midfielder’s switch to Morocco was approved in May. Brahim Diaz, who top-scored at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations with five goals, was born in Spain
- Haiti have lost all five of their World Cup matches, scoring twice and conceding 15 times across those games
- Only three nations previously lost their first five games at the tournament: Mexico (first 9), El Salvador (6) and Canada (6)
- The 52-year-gap between Haiti and Congo DR’s first appearance (1974) and second appearance (2026) at the World Cup is the fourth-longest in tournament history, behind Wales (64 years, between 1958 and 2022), Egypt (56 years, between 1934 and 1990) and Norway (56 years, between 1938 and 1994)
- Among sides to play 10 games in CONCACAF qualifying, only Bermuda (31) and Nicaragua (16) conceded more goals than Haiti (13), as well as shipping the third-largest amount of expected goals (11.7)
- No player scored more goals in the campaign than Haiti’s Duckens Nazon (6), including a hat-trick after coming on as a sub against Costa Rica in September
- Sebastien Migne is the second person to coach Haiti at a World Cup after Antoine Tassy and the first non-Haitian to do so
World Cup 2026: Morocco v Haiti prediction
Morocco have looked one of the most organised and technically accomplished sides outside the tournament favourites, while Haiti have struggled to create chances against top-level opposition.
With qualification within touching distance and confidence high following their impressive start, the Atlas Lions should control proceedings and secure a comfortable victory to book their place in the knockout rounds.
Prediction: Morocco 3-0 Haiti
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