World Cup odds, best bets for Saturday’s games including Brazil-Morocco

The hosts have all played, and now it’s time for the rest of the field to join in on the fun. There are four matches taking place on Saturday, the first of 11 days with four matches.

Here’s a look at the odds, storylines and best bets from our staff for Saturday’s World Cup action, which includes the sneaky good meeting between Brazil and Morocco.

Qatar vs. Switzerland (Group B)

Time: 3 p.m. ET

TV: Fox (English), Telemundo (Spanish)

Venue: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.

The 2022 hosts lost all three matches four years ago, but get another crack at it this summer. Qatar is still viewed as the long shot of the group with +275 odds to advance to the knockout stage. The rest of the group is solidly favored to advance, on the heels of expected wins against Qatar.

Switzerland is the biggest favorite in the four matches of the day. The Swiss have been consistent in recent World Cups, winning at least one match in the last five and advancing to the final 16 in four of the last five, including the last three. Switzerland has also reached the quarterfinals in the last two Euros. You can set your watch to the Swiss having a solid, but still unspectacular, showing at a major tournament.

Brazil vs. Morocco (Group C)

Time: 6 p.m. ET

TV: Fox (English), Telemundo (Spanish)

Venue: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.

This is arguably the best match of the group stage. Brazil is the most accomplished national team in the sport, and Morocco is on the rise after finishing fourth in Qatar with wins against Iberian neighbors Spain and Portugal.

Morocco’s success hasn’t stopped since Qatar, though. The Olympic team got a bronze medal in Paris two years ago. The Under-20 team won the 2025 U-20 World Cup. The Under-17s have made the quarterfinals in each of the last two World Cups at that age group. That’s quite a run of success for an African nation that had done none of that before. A win against Brazil would be a heck of a way to keep the momentum going.

While the arrow is clearly skyrocketing up for the Atlas Lions (a top-tier national team nickname), it’s dipping down for Brazil. The five-time champions haven’t made a final since winning in 2002. Their only semifinal appearance in the last five World Cups came at home, and that was the infamous, embarrassing 7-1 loss to Germany. So it’s safe to say the last five World Cups have been disappointments in Brazil.

Brazil is favored, with implied odds giving the Brazilians just under a 60 percent chance of winning, but Morocco isn’t the big underdog they would be at almost any other point in history.

Haiti vs. Scotland (Group C)

Time: 9 p.m. ET

TV: Fox (English), Telemundo (Spanish)

Venue: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.

This match is a litmus test for whether you like the expanded 48-team field. Scotland last made a World Cup in 1998 and has never made it past the group stage. Haiti’s only other World Cup appearance was in 1974, and the Haitians got outscored 14-2 in three defeats.

If you like the idea of these countries in a World Cup and with a realistic chance of a win, you might like the 48-team tournament. If you scoff at the idea of this meeting being worthy of a World Cup, you probably miss the 32-team version.

Scotland is a solid favorite in this meeting of World Cup underdogs.

Australia vs. Turkey (Group D)

Time: Midnight ET

TV: FS1 (English), Telemundo (Spanish)

Venue: BC Place, Vancouver

World Cup after dark! There won’t be many starts this late throughout the tournament, but it’s not the only one. This late local kickoff will fit nicely into the afternoon in Australia and the morning in Turkey.

The Socceroos have one of the more whimsical nicknames in the world and join their North American hosts in calling the sport soccer. They also entered the tournament as the lowest-rated team in Group D by the sportsbooks. Not only is Turkey favored in this match, but Australia was the long-shot pick to win Group D before play began. Four years ago, Australia got out of the group with wins against Tunisia and Denmark, so don’t discount the Socceroos.

This is Turkey’s first World Cup appearance since finishing third in 2002. While 12 of the 26 players on the roster come from Turkish clubs Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, 21-year-old attacking stars Arda Güler and Kenan Yıldız are primed to be breakout stars in this tournament. Güler has already made 112 appearances in three seasons for Real Madrid while Yıldız scored 10 goals in Serie A for Juventus this season.

Best bets

Mike Hume: Haiti to win over Scotland, +490 (FanDuel)

With apologies to my Scottish heritage, I like the upside here, though this would be a small wager. Haiti should be playing free of any and all expectations. They’ve already navigated a ton of logistical complications during qualifying, as they were never able to play matches in their home country. And yet they’ve climbed nine spots in the World Elo Rankings over the last year. While Scotland is the markedly better team by that measure (No. 27 vs. Haiti at No. 73), Haiti backs down from no one. I expect a close match in which the Grenadiers just might prevail.

Dan Santaromita: Brazil-Morocco both teams to score (BTTS), +110 (Fanatics)

I was hoping to find something for this game because I’m so excited to watch it. I also like over 2.5 goals, which has +105 odds and almost picked that. I think this game will be open, and both teams are capable of causing trouble for the other.

Dean Jones: Brazil-Morocco BTTS, +110 (Fanatics)

This promises to be the first high-profile game, in terms of the level of play we can expect to see and the expectations both teams have in this tournament. Brazil are often the team neutrals want to get behind, but Morocco are a great team to watch and could capture some hearts if they play at their best in this game.

Vik Chokshi: Switzerland to win 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0, +115 (FanDuel)

Keeping it simple. I don’t see Qatar scoring in this match, so this bet covers me a couple of different ways. Look for the Swiss to score early and cruise from there. This should be a good warm-up match for them.

Betting records