Vinícius saved Brazil from Morocco

Darwin, 14 June : Brazil were unable to beat Morocco in their match. In their first game of this World Cup, they fell behind but managed to draw 1–1.

With this result, Brazil maintained their 92-year record of never losing their opening match in a World Cup. Meanwhile, Morocco extended their unbeaten run to 29 matches.

Early on Sunday morning in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Morocco started the match by pressing Brazil hard. In the first 10 minutes, Achraf Hakimi and his teammates created several attacking moves.

Brazil took some time to settle into the game. Their early play looked disorganized, and the Seleção struggled, with Lucas Paquetá losing possession several times. Their attack also lacked sharpness.

Morocco tried to take advantage of these mistakes—and succeeded early on. In the 21st minute, from a brilliant pass by Brahim Díaz from midfield, Ismaïl Saibari put Morocco ahead.

Goalkeeper Alisson Becker came off his line from the penalty arc to challenge the PSV Eindhoven striker, but Saibari used great pace and clever technique to lift the ball over him into the net. Gabriel Magalhães also tried but failed to stop him.

However, Morocco could not hold the lead for long. In the 32nd minute, Vinícius Jr. finished a brilliant angled shot inside the box from a Bruno Guimarães pass. Despite diving, Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou could not reach it.

In first-half stoppage time, Paquetá attempted a spectacular bicycle kick from inside the box, but Bounou made a brilliant save.

In the second half, both teams played more cautiously. The intensity from the first half faded after the break.

In the final stages, Brazil’s Raphinha missed three clear chances. Even with 10 minutes of added time, neither team could find a winner.

Brazil had last lost their opening World Cup match in 1930 and 1934. Since then, they have never left their first match in defeat.

In the 2018 World Cup, Brazil started their campaign with a 1–1 draw against Switzerland. Eight years later, they once again began their tournament by sharing points.

Morocco, who battled toe-to-toe with Brazil, recorded 11 shots in the first half and touched the ball 12 times inside the opposition box. However, in the second half, the African champions could not maintain that level of threat.