Five-time champions Brazil played out a 1-1 draw with Morocco in their 2026 FIFA World Cup opener at the New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday.
Ismael Saibari opened the scoring for the Atlas Lions, but Vinicius Junior found the net to level the score-line, as both teams could not be separated after an entertaining encounter.
Morocco made a very positive start to the game, pressing resiliently and forcing Brazil into several errors. Their early pressure paid off as they broke the deadlock in the 21st minute through a brilliant finish from Ismael Saibari, who received a perfectly weighted pass from Brahim Diaz before lobbing Alisson to find the net.
Brazil responded in the 32nd minute through Vinicius Junior who displayed a moment of magic to make it 1-1. The Real Madrid winger latched onto a pass from Bruno Guimaraes, before shifting the ball to his right, and whipping an unstoppable effort into the net.
More Read
After an all-action first half, the tempo of the game dropped in the second 45 minutes. Morocco’s press became more relaxed while Brazil started gaining more control of the ball.
In the 52nd minute, the Selecao almost took advantage of a rare moment of lack of concentration from Morocco’s defense. A quick throw-in from Brazil enabled Vinicius to play Igor Thiago through for a shot on goal, however, the Brentford striker was denied by Bounou.
Another mistake almost cost the African side in the 83rd minute, this time from Issa Diop. The Fulham defender made a dreadful pass backwards, putting Raphinha through. But Bounou came to the rescue once again, clearing the ball away just in time.
At the other end, Alisson made an impressive double save in the dying minutes to deny Neil El Aynaoui’s initial effort and Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab’s rebound, ensuring the game finished 1-1.
The result means that either Scotland or Haiti have a chance to take top spot in Group C when they face on Sunday. Meanwhile, Brazil’s next game comes up against Haiti on Saturday, June 20 while Morocco face Scotland on Friday, June 19.
© Bold Sports Media. All rights reserved. If sharing, kindly credit Bold Sports as the source and include a link to the original post. Unauthorised use is prohibited.
