EAST RUTHERFORD – A stunning Vinicius Jr strike rescued a point for a lackluster Brazil as Carlo Ancelotti’s side came from a goal down to tie 1-1 with Morocco in its opening game of the World Cup in New Jersey Saturday evening.
Vinicius struck just after the half-hour mark to level the scores after PSV striker Ismael Saibari had openeed the scoring with an exquisite chip midway through the first half to give Morocco a deserved lead.
This was a statement performance from Morocco – semi-finalists in 2022 and the reigning AFCON champions – who more than deserved the result after controlling large parts of their Group C opener at the New York New Jersey Stadium (MetLife Stadium).
The Moroccan midfield trio of Neil El Aynaoui, Azzedine Ounahi and Ayyoub Bouaddi was particularly impressive, out-maneuvering the Brazilian trio of Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães and Lucas Paquetá for large parts of a hugely impressive first half. Brahim Díaz, meanwhile, proved a creative threat throughout, with Achraf Hakimi’s marauding runs causing significant problems for down the Brazil left.
Brazil gained more of a foothold in the second half after Ancelotti replaced Casemiro with Fabinho in midfield, but this was not a performance that suggested the five-time champions are capable of going all the way in North America this summer, far from it.
It was Morocco who started much the brighter, often penning Brazil in its own half in the early stages and creating plenty of promising openings. El Aynaoui went closest as Morocco launched an early siege of the Brazil goal when he was found in space on the edge of the penalty area following a surging run from Noussair Mazraoui down the left. The Roma midfielder, however, mishit his shot, allowing Gabriel to hook away the goalbound effort.
Morocco’s dominance was such that the yellow-clad supporters who made up the majority of the MetLife crowd began to whistle as early as the 10th minute as the AFCON champions controlled the ball and the territory.
Brazil, however, should have taken the lead against the run of play when Vinicius got to the byline and dug out a cross for the unmarked Thiago, but the Brentford striker misjudged his header with the goal at his mercy and Morocco survived.
They ruthlessly punished that miss seven minutes later and took the lead their performance deserved when Diáz split the Brazil defense with an exquisite through ball. Saibari shrugged off the attention of Gabriel to latch onto the pass before lifting a chip over the onrushing Alisson to send the Moroccan fans into raptures.
Morocco continued to carve out promising openings thereafter and continued to overrun the Brazilians in midfield, with Casemiro hopelessly exposed against his more agile Moroccan counterparts. Exploiting that midfield dominance, Hakimi strolled through the Brazilian midfield as if he had all the time in the world before screwing wide from a promising position at the edge of the area on 27 minutes.
Brazil’s equalizer came out of nothing five minutes later when Vinicius picked up possession on the left wing before cutting inside and slamming an unstoppable shot beyond Yassine Bounou and into the top corner.
Undeterred, Morocco continued to slice its way through the Brazil midfield, with both Casemiro and Roger Ibanez booked in the closing stages of the half for scything down El Aynaoui and Diaz respectively after powerful runs from the Moroccan pair.
But it was Brazil who came closest to taking the lead in the final moments of the opening period when Paquetá’s acrobatic scissor kick was well saved by Bounou. Marquinhos glanced wide from the resulting corner.
The half-time introduction of Fabinho for Casemiro helped Brazil stem the relentless wave of Moroccan attacks through the middle, but the African side continued to show promise in a half of few chances.
Raphinha and substitute Danilo Santos both had opportunities to steal a victory for Brazil late on, but both shot too close to Bounou from promising positions inside the area.
There was nearly late drama as Alisson spilled a long-range effort from El Aynaoui in the tenth minute of added-on time into the feet of substitute Ayoube Amaimouni, but the Liverpool ‘keeper made up for his error by spreading himself well and saving the rebound to ensure Brazil avoided a damaging defeat.
Ancelloti’s side faces a date with Haiti in Philadelphia on June 19, with Morocco set to take on Scotland in Foxborough on the same day.
