The Tartan Army won four of their six UEFA qualifying matches and secured their place in North America in dramatic fashion.
Two stoppage-time goals from Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean—one of which was spectacularly scored from the halfway line—sealed a thrilling 4-2 victory over Denmark and confirmed Scotland as group winners.
Head coach Steve Clarke, who signed a four-year contract extension at the end of last month, watched his side suffer back-to-back 1-0 friendly defeats to Japan and Ivory Coast in March. However, Scotland have responded strongly with convincing victories over Curacao and Bolivia in recent weeks.
A 4-1 win against a 10-man Curacao side at Hampden Park was followed by a dominant 4-0 triumph over Bolivia last Saturday.
Should Scotland score four goals again against Haiti, they would achieve three consecutive victories with at least four goals scored in each match for the first time since 1928–29.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Scotland and Haiti. Ahead of their Group C opener, the Scots understand that victory is essential if they are to launch a serious bid for a historic tournament run.
The Tartan Army are desperate to finally break their major tournament curse and reach the knockout stage on their 13th attempt.
They have previously been eliminated in the group stage in all 12 of their appearances at major tournaments, including eight World Cups and four European Championships.
Team News and Predicted Lineups
Haiti have no major injury concerns, and Migne is expected to stick with the 4-4-2 formation used in recent friendlies against New Zealand and Peru.
The oldest player in the squad at 38 years of age—and Haiti's most-capped player with 81 international appearances—is goalkeeper and captain Johny Placide. He is expected to be protected by a back four consisting of Carlens Arcus, Ricardo Ade, Hannes Delcroix, and Martin Experience.
Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Sunderland forward Wilson Isidor are both expected to start.
Isidor is likely to partner Haiti's all-time leading scorer Duckens Nazon, who has netted an impressive 44 goals in 78 appearances for his country.
For Scotland, Billy Gilmour has been ruled out of the World Cup due to a knee injury. Meanwhile, influential midfielder Scott McTominay remains a doubt after he and defender Scott McKenna missed training on Thursday because of a stomach illness.
Lewis Ferguson, Kenny McLean, Ryan Christie, and Manchester United youngster Tyler Fletcher are among the midfield options available to Clarke, while Europa League winner John McGinn is expected to start on the left flank in a 4-4-2 system.
