‘Bring it on’ says Clarke as Scotland face Brazil, Morocco & Haiti

Steve Clarke says Scotland can “bring a little bit of magic” to the World Cup after being drawn to face Brazil, Morocco and Haiti in a nostalgic return to the men’s finals next year.

The Scots are making their first appearance at the tournament for 28 years, where they will play two of their foes from the 1998 competition in the form of Brazil and Morocco.

Clarke’s side will open against Haiti on Saturday 13 June in Boston or New York.

They will then take on Morocco on Friday 19 June in Boston or Philadelphia, before finishing against five-time winners Brazil in either Atlanta or Miami on Wednesday 24 June.

“Bring it on,” Clarke told BBC Sport Scotland.

“The draw’s fantastic. One of the big things in my head was no European teams.

“So we’re playing three top sides from three different continents of the world and that’s what the World Cup’s all about.”

The finals are being held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with most games in the USA.

Scotland were drawn as a pot three team at a mammoth ceremony in Washington DC after dramatically stunning Denmark in one of the country’s finest ever nights to top their qualifying group.

Unsurprisingly, the Scots have never played against Haiti, who are 84th in the Fifa world rankings.

In 1998, Scotland and Brazil opened the World Cup at the Stade de France, when a second-half Tom Boyd own goal gave the South Americans a narrow 2-1 win.

Following a 1-1 draw with Norway, Scotland went to Saint-Etienne with hope of progression, only to be beaten 3-0 by Morocco.

“Haiti as the pot four team will be difficult,” added 62-year-old Clarke. “They won their qualifying section quite comfortably, but we managed to win ours as well so bring it on.

Some of their World Cup rivals need less of an introduction than others.

It will be a first meeting between Haiti and the Scots, but Clarke and his team will not be taking them lightly.

They beat Nicaragua 2-0 last month to qualify for just their second World Cup – despite their manager having never been to the Caribbean island.

Sebastien Migne has been unable to set foot on Haiti since being appointed 18 months ago because a conflict in the country forces them to play their home matches 500 miles away in Curacao – an island nation just off the coast of South American country Venezuela.

Scotland have not faced Morocco since that game in Saint-Etienne, which has been their only meeting.

Perhaps worryingly for Clarke, Morocco are on a 12-game winning streak.

Brazil are closing the new year with a mixed bag of results. In their last outing they drew 1-1 with Tunisia, and they have also lost to Japan and Bolivia in recent months.