A first World Cup in 28 years for Scotland. A first ever for Haiti. As the two underdogs in group C go head-to-head, expect fireworks as they eye a positive start to historic World Cup campaigns. Steve Clarke's Scotland are ranked 40 places above Haiti (who are WR 83) and consequentially start as strong favourites. They come into the World Cup on the back of strong results against Curacao (4-1 W) and Bolivia (4-0) win and their confidence will be high.
Sebastian Migne's Haiti, meanwhile, overcame steep odds to make it to the World Cup in the first place and will not be cowed on the biggest stage of them all. They have had a mixed bag in the World Cup warmups: a 4-0 thrashing of New Zealand was followed by a 2-1 loss to Peru (a game in which they took the lead and held onto until the 81st minute), and they'll be quietly confident of pulling off an upset on debut.
Here's everything you need to know about the match.
How to watch:
The match will be available on BBC One in the UK, Fox in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time: Sunday, June 14, 2.00 a.m. BST (9.00 p.m. ET, 6:30 a.m. IST, 11:00 a.m. AEST)
Venue: Gillette Stadium, Boston
Referee: Mustapha Gorbal (Algeria)
VAR: TBC
Team News
Haiti
No injury qualms for Haiti ahead of their opener.
Scotland
Ché Adams, F: DOUBT
Billy Gilmour, M: OUT of World Cup. A big blow to the Scots, Gilmour's injury was the definition of last-minute, and he has since been replaced in the squad by young Manchester United midfielder Tyler Fletcher
Talking Points
Scotland's big chance to start strong in tough group
Scotland missed Ben Gannon-Doak's pace and directness in the qualifiers (even as they won their group) and his return to the fold will be a major boost for Steve Clarke against what promises to be an obdurate Haiti side. The key, though, remains Napoli icon Scott McTominay: Clarke will lean on the former Man United man's penchant for coming up with big goals on big occasions as he banks on Haiti struggling to keep up with McTominay's clever late movement into the box when Scotland attack.
Scotland should expect to have more possession in this game than they usually do, and that's where John McGinn and Lewis Ferguson in midfield will come in as they look to dictate the tempo. It's not Clarke's plan A -- but he will have to get more expansive than he's usually comfortable with to get a big result here. Considering the 8 best third-place finishers across groups go on to the round-of-32, any chance to improve your team's goal difference cannot be missed.
Trivia: goalkeeper Craig Gordon is the second oldest player to make a World Cup squad. At 43, he's two years younger than Egypt keeper Essam El Hadary was in Russia.
Haiti will look to hurt Scotland on the counter
If Scotland look at Haiti as their most favourable opponents in this group, Haiti look at Scotland in much the same way. If they are to get a result on World Cup debut, this opener represents their best bet.
Their route to the World Cup has been dramatic and meaningful -- forward Frantzdy Pierre told FIFA.com, "In Haiti, football means everything because it gives people hope, pride and a sense of unity. The country has struggled through many hardships, so when the national team does well, people feel hopeful and reconnected."
"I remember the day we qualified. Thousands of people filled the streets, hugging, singing and dancing together. Before that, many people were afraid to leave their homes because of gang violence, but at that moment, all of those problems seemed to disappear."
The weight of these words cannot be underestimated; and with Migne's pragmatic setup backing it up on the field, they could well trouble Scotland on the counter (and on the traditional Clarke strength that are set pieces).