Brazil 1-1 Morocco
Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil got their World Cup 2026 campaign off with a point against Morocco on a cool Saturday afternoon in New York.
In more manageable temperatures than the southern states and Mexico the Atlas Lions went ahead through Ismail Saibari, but Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior scored a stunning equaliser as the Selecao and the Atlas Lions shared the spoils.
The World Cup 2026 betting odds here at SBOTOP rank Brazil as fifth favourites with Morocco heading for a Round of 16 exit, but on this evidence, there is little for Mohamed Ouahbi’s Lions to fear, while the Selecao have improvements to make.
Highlights of the game
This was the most anticipated game of the tournament so far and it certainly delivered as the Atlas Lions got off to a blistering start with Real Madrid star Brahim Diaz having an early shot desperately cleared by the Selecao defence. Brazil too were up for the fight and Vinicius got to the byline and chipped over a delicious ball which Brentford striker Igor Thiago met, but with the goal gaping he fluffed his header. It was a huge chance which Brazil were left to rue pretty quickly.
And the Atlas Lions opened the scoring with a piece of play that Brazil would have been proud of. Diaz picked up the ball in midfield and split centre halves Gabriel and Marquinhos with a perfect ball which Saibari latched onto and, with Alisson racing off his line the Morocco star chipped a sumptuous finish over the Liverpool keeper.
But Vinicius was always going to make his stamp on the World Cup 2026 highlights, and he did so in beautiful style, with just half an hour of his tournament gone. Brazil had looked somewhat stilted until then, but the equaliser was a moment of pure Samba magic. The Madrid star exchanged passes with Bruno Guimaraes before cutting inside and unleashing a brilliant strike into the top corner.
After such an impressive first half Morocco had to show their defensive steel by digging in in the second, with captain Achraf Hakimi keeping the ship steady and former Sevilla keeper Bono standing firm. Thiago had another chance when a quick throw-in caught Morocco on the back foot and his powerful strike was beaten away by Bono. The Samba Boys were in the ascendancy and Newcastle United star Guimaraes raced down the right before sending over a cross which Raphinha was inches away from converting. And, as the clock ticked down, Bono was on hand again to thwart Raphinha as the Barcelona man bore down on goal.
Morocco had not fired a single shot in the second half but they almost nicked all three points in a dramatic end to the game. With 98 minutes on the clock El Aynaoui tried a curling shot from all of 25 yards which Alisson saved but couldn’t keep hold of and El Mourabet beat the keeper to the ball but couldn’t steer the shot home.
Key statistics
At sixth and seventh in the FIFA World Rankings, Brazil and Morocco were the two most closely matched nations in the opening round and the only two top ten teams to meet at this stage. And there was very little to separate them in a hard-fought match.
The Selecao had the edge in terms of possession with just over 51 per cent of the ball, while Morocco won the shot count by 14 to 12, though Brazil had five on target to the Lions’ three. And the Atlas Lions remain unbeaten throughout 2025 and 2026.
What’s next?
The other two Group C sides, Haiti and Scotland were in action late on Saturday US time and John McGinn gave the Scots a perfect start with a 1-0 win. And then, in five days’ time on Friday Morocco will take on Scotland while Brazil face Haiti; and both will expect to win those games.
In the meantime, there are two more eye-catching clashes to take in on Sunday two fancied European sides are in action; Germany kick off their campaign, hoping to shrug off the memory of failures in 2018 and 2022, when they take on new boys Curacao, while the Netherlands have a tasty tussle with Japan to deal with. And on Monday, tournament favourites Spain take on the minnows of Cape Verde.
But for now, the tournament is truly up and running as Brazil are off the mark…and so are Morocco.
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