06/13/26 08:34:00
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06/13 20:33 CDT Brazil rallies for 1-1 draw against Morocco in its World Cup
opener behind Vincius Jnior's goal
Brazil rallies for 1-1 draw against Morocco in its World Cup opener behind
Vincius Jnior's goal
By RONALD BLUM
AP Sports WriterBta
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) --- Samba soccer this wasn't.
Facing pressure to win its first World Cup title since 2002, five-time champion
Brazil was outplayed early and needed Vincius Jnior's 32nd-minute goal to
gain a 1-1 draw against Morocco on Saturday in a pulsating, high-profile group
match.
"We started on a really bad note," Vincius said through a translator. "For
certain, we got to hold on to the ball. We have to move better."
A semifinalist four years ago, Morocco had 12 shots in the first 30 minutes and
went ahead on Ismael Saibari's 21st-minute goal, a chip over goalkeeper Alisson
Becker.
"The team was a bit anxious at the beginning. Nerves were all over the place,"
Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said through a translator. "A very imbalanced
team."
Brazil evened the score 11 minutes later. Vincius exchanged passes with Bruno
Guimaraes on the left flank, took a few touches to cut around Neil El Aynaoui
and rifled a right-footed shot past the outstretched arm of Yassine Bounou for
his 10th international goal.
"We are satisfied with the draw," Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said. "We are
not euphoric."
Fans in Brazil's canary yellow dominated the crowd of 80,663 at MetLife Stadium
--- only about five sections near the south goal had fans in Morocco's red.
Seleao supporters expected the flowing, entertaining play of Pel's era and
were subdued before Vincius evened the score with his spectacular angled
effort.
Brazil extended its unbeaten streak in World Cup openers to 21, including 17
wins, since a 1934 loss to Spain. No. 6 Brazil and seventh-ranked Morocco are
the only top 10 teams to meet in the first round of the expanded 48-nation
World Cup tournament.
"We cannot lose heart," Ancelotti said. "You don't win a World Cup based on
your first match."
Brazil plays Haiti on Friday in Philadelphia, then closes Group C against
Scotland in Miami Gardens, Florida. Morocco faces Scotland in Foxborough,
Massachusetts, on Friday, then meets Haiti in Atlanta.
Brazil star Neymar, recovering from a torn right calf, didn't dress for the
game.
One hour before the match, an Uber from Times Square to the stadium, site of
next month's final, was $126.95 --- up from $83.95 for advance booking for the
same time Sunday.
Ancelotti, the Italian who became Brazil's first foreign World Cup coach, wore
a three-piece suit with a necktie on a sunny afternoon with a 88-degree
Fahrenheit (31-degree Celsius) temperature for the 6 p.m. start.
Morocco went ahead after Lucas Paquet lost control of a short pass from Roger
Ibaez and knocked it off Bilal El Khannouss. It bounced to Noussair Mazraoui,
who sent the ball to Brahim Daz in the center circle.
His through pass split Gabriel Magalhaes and Marquinho, and Saibari ran onto
the ball at the top of the arc. Alisson was slow to come off his line as
Saibari scored his 10th international goal.
Morocco nearly went back ahead in the ninth of 10 minutes of stoppage time.
Alisson spilled Aynaoui's long-range shot, which was headed wide, then while on
the grass leaned back toward the goal and used his right hand to block Ayoube
Amaimouni's follow-up effort.
"We still have to improve," Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi said. "We have to
keep the positive things. We're going to learn from the mistakes, for sure."
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
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