6 min readJun 15, 2026 01:15 PM IST
First published on: Jun 14, 2026 at 06:39 AM IST
Hands in the pocket of his black suit, an odd choice for a sweltering day. Eyebrows raised. Carlo Ancelotti looked grimly at his troops retreating to the bench. Blowing the hair dryer is not his style of operation, after a largely tepid performance for a 1-1 draw. But his still and piercing eyes told the story, he was an unhappy man. A point gained against Brazil’s stiffest adversary in the group stage is no consolation for a manager crowned with all the riches of European club football; nor would it have mellowed the fans’ ire.
Brazil could have after all dropped all three points in an incoherent and distracted first quarter, but after equalising and pulling the game back, the five time champions’ staidness in the second half would baffle both the manager and the masses. Not that Brazil didn’t strive, but there was little conviction, cutting edge or singular belief. A goal never lurked, Brazil had not the key to the ignition that would blaze Morocco. The North African country shifted between low and mid-blocks to nip any threat from blossoming. Perhaps, it was the first-match rust, but unless they upgrade their performance in the next few games, their wait for the crown could drag longer. Mere individual blitzes could not make them a front-runner.
AS IT HAPPENED | Brazil vs Morocco FIFA World Cup 2026 Highlights
The second half was an attritional meander to a soft conclusion, an antithesis to a nail-biting first half, sparkled by two sumptuous strikes from either side. Undaunted by the sweltering heat, Morocco waltzed, pressing relentlessly and targeting Brazil’s ponderous full-backs. Five shots, but none on target or making Allison sweat, were piled inside the first ten minutes. Brazil were pushed back to their own half, but the centre-back wall of Marquinhos and Gabriel repelled the early intrusions.
Morocco would rue the profligate attempts and the domination of possession that could have been better utilised. As thrilling as they were to behold, their players unflustered by the heritage of the opponents or the grandness of the stage, their midfielders passing the ball in neat triangles, the final product remained elusive. The let-off welcomed panic, with Brazil finding a toehold into the game.
Shortly after the vibrant Vinicius Junior and Igor Thiago nearly conspired a goal, Morocco broke free. Brazil were ill-equipped to deal with the pace and movements that they left far too much space behind for Brahim Diaz to produce a sublime ball to Ismael Saibari. The PSV Eindhoven forward, Saibari, nonchalantly lobbed the ball over a bemused Allison Becker, without any defensive succour from his centre-back lieutenants Gabriel and Marquinhos.
Ismael Saibari scored in the 21st minute to put Morocco ahead in the game vs Brazil. (AP)
The blow was as much a test of Brazil’s steeliness as an interrogation of Ancelotti’s tactical durability. Vinicius Jr pacified the distraught centre-backs, gestured at the crowd to raise the decibels and in a fraction more than ten minutes, he blew his team a kiss of life with the equaliser. It was so Vinicius a moment.
It was not merely a goal, but a statement of his precocious gifts and the readiness to join the legion of great Brazilian forwards. Mid-distance in the Moroccan half, he soaked a pass from Lucas Paqueta and set off, cut in and rolled the ball to Bruno Guimaraes near the box, before he sped away to the edge of the box, receiving it back from Bruno. He turned El Aynaoui out, and unlocked a fearsome drive across the face of the goal into the far corner. It was the kind of goal that could ignite a championship quest, infuse belief. An animated Vinicius raised his arms and blew a kiss skywards.
Inspired, Brazil enjoyed their best spell of the game leading up to half time, where they could have seized the lead but for Morocco’s defiant goal-keeper Bono punching Lucas Paqeuta’s side-footed volley. The first act ended in high hopes of a searing sequel. It was far from absorbing, and continued to expose the failings of both sides.
Brazil snatched a point from Morocco but they look a team far from being frontrunners. (AP)
The Selecao have to ponder. The full-backs that started, Douglas Santos and Ibanez, looked rusty and were constantly out-run by Morocco’s counterparts. Casemiro looked exhausted; his decision to turn down a contract extension from Manchester United looked logical, as he is beyond the hard rigours of high-intensity football. His only purpose was to overburden fellow double pivot, Bruno. Both were outwitted and outmuscled by the teenaged Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille.
Discordance upfront would be more worrisome for Ancelotti. The Italian had pledged all his stakes on his extravagantly gifted frontmen. He altered his default 4-2-4 to a sturdier 4-2-3-1, with Igor Thiago slotted as the classical nine. The three imaginative forwards would buzz behind, and when attacking morph into a three-man frontline, Raphinha and Vinicius Junior sliding from the flanks. Perhaps, the combustible first half in the Panama friendly forced the change, against a defiant side that had stung them in Qatar.
But the plan failed gloriously. Thiago barely imposed fear, neither as a goal-scoring threat or a disruptor in the box. His replacement, Matheus Cunha, capable of designing special moments, barely fizzed. Raphinha, Barcelona’s best player of the season, was uncharacteristically insipid, barely forcing a save off Bono. Late in the second half, Vinicius squared him up beautifully inside the box, only for a feeble shot that summed up Brazil’s forgettable night.
Vinicius scored a stunner against Morocco to help Brazil take a point from their FIFA World Cup 2026 opening game. (AP) 
Ismael Saibari scored in the 21st minute to put Morocco ahead in the game vs Brazil. (AP)
Brazil snatched a point from Morocco but they look a team far from being frontrunners. (AP)
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