{"id":118861,"date":"2026-06-13T15:43:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T14:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/?p=118861"},"modified":"2026-06-13T15:57:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T14:57:53","slug":"world-cup-picks-brazil-opens-campaign-as-scotland-switzerland-seek-crucial-group-stage-points","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/soccer\/world-cup-picks-brazil-opens-campaign-as-scotland-switzerland-seek-crucial-group-stage-points\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup Picks: Brazil Opens Campaign as Scotland, Switzerland Seek Crucial Group-Stage Points"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":118519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[780],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"acf":{"brief_description":"Brazil opens its World Cup against Morocco in a marquee Group C clash, while Qatar faces Switzerland and Scotland returns to the tournament against Haiti","auto_update_sportal365":true,"property_type":["","run_ads","","","",""],"main_image":118520,"main_image_description":"Source: Alamy Stock Photo","authors":false,"custom_author":"Mark Keast","type":"news","properties":{"ads_enabled":true,"adult_content":false,"important":false,"live":false},"live_url":"","type_of_redirect":"permanent","body":[{"acf_fc_layout":"editor_block","content":"<p>Day 2 of the World Cup had its share of memorable highlights \u2013 the U.S. delivering the tournament\u2019s most impressive performance so far, a 4-1 win over Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Paraguay, remember, beat both Argentina and Brazil in CONMEBOL qualifying. They\u2019re no pushovers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">Forward Folarin Balogun scored twice for the Americans and is already emerging as an early Golden Boot contender (+1200 at Betway). The U.S. attack looked far more dangerous than people expected coming into the tournament.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">Bettors need to keep an eye on the status of Christian Pulisic for the Americans, who suffered a calf injury and didn\u2019t play the second half. He did tell reporters later that he was kicked in the back of the leg and didn\u2019t think it was serious.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">And in Toronto, of course, Canada overcame a sluggish first half start and earned its first-ever men\u2019s World Cup point, in a 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Still, while Canada showed resilience, despite Cyle Larin\u2019s goal, the team still struggled to finish chances.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">Canada is +220 this morning to win Group B.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">In Day 3, Brazil opens up against Morocco, while Qatar faces Switzerland, and Scotland plays Haiti.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><strong>BEST BETS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><strong>Qatar versus Switzerland, today, 3 p.m. EST, Levi\u2019s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><strong>In <\/strong><a target=\"_self\" class=\"editor-link\" href=\"https:\/\/betway.com\/g\/en\/sports\/grp\/soccer\/world-cup-2026\/matches\"><strong>World Cup betting<\/strong><\/a><strong> on Betway, Switzerland are heavy favorites at -500, with Qatar at +1000, and a draw priced at +600.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">At those odds, there isn&#8217;t much value in betting the moneyline alone. Instead, bettors may want to look at the alternate markets, where Betway has Over 2.5 total goals priced at -175 and Over 3.5 goals at +137.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">Breel Embolo, Switzerland&#8217;s primary striker, is priced at -120 to score anytime and +500 to score two or more goals. Embolo scored four goals during World Cup qualifying and is expected to be a focal point of the Swiss attack against Qatar.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><strong>Brazil versus Morocco, today, 6 p.m. EST, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><strong>Brazil is the favorite at -154, with Morocco at +425, and a draw priced at +275.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">Morocco, organized and physical, is a tough out, knocking Brazil out of the last World Cup in penalties.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">I&#8217;m expecting Brazil to grind out a narrow victory rather than run away with this one. That&#8217;s why Under 2.5 total goals at -150 stands out as an attractive betting option.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">Brazil is dealing with an injury crisis. Neymar is out with a calf issue, though he might return next week. Rodrygo (ACL tear), Est\u00eav\u00e3o (hamstring), Eder Milit\u00e3o&nbsp;(thigh) are all out. The Brazilians still have Vinicius, Raphinha and a strong center-back duo in Marquinhos and Gabriel, but it\u2019s a patched-up squad going out there today.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><strong>Haiti versus Scotland, today, 9 p.m. EST, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><strong>At Betway, Scotland is the betting favorite at -200, with Haiti at +475, and the odds of a draw at +350.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">No. 40 FIFA-ranked Scotland makes a return to the World Cup in solid form, with recent friendly wins of 4-1 over Curacao and 4-0 over Bolivia. They will be motivated today against Group C\u2019s weakest side.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">Scotland on the moneyline is the cleanest play. Their recent form suggests they should be able to secure a comfortable victory over Haiti. If you&#8217;re looking for more value than the moneyline offers, Scotland to score over 2.5 goals is priced at +170. Betway also has Scotland Exact Total Goals \u2014 2 at +240, which could be worth a look given that many analysts are projecting a 2-0 Scottish victory or a similar scoreline.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">Scotland must win tonight, and take the three points to challenge for the knockout stage, since they have tougher matches against Brazil and Morocco coming up.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">It\u2019s a full day on the World Cup docket. Happy hunting!<\/p>\n"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118861"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118862,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118861\/revisions\/118862"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}