Vinicius Junior dragged Brazil back into their World Cup opener, scoring a sharp equaliser in a 1-1 World Cup Draw with Morocco in New Jersey. The forward cut in from the left, shifted onto his right foot and finished after Morocco had taken the lead, leaving Brazil with only one point from their first Group C match.
The equaliser came 11 minutes after Ismael Saibari had put Morocco ahead in the 21st minute, a start that forced Brazil to chase the game instead of settle into it. For a side chasing a record sixth World Cup title, the result was an uneasy opening to a 48-team tournament and a reminder that even five-time winners can be made to work hard from the first whistle.
That matters even more because Carlo Ancelotti is trying to end Brazil’s title drought and is the first foreign coach to lead them at football’s biggest tournament. Brazil last lifted the trophy in 2002, and their path to this tournament was hardly smooth after a 5th-placed finish in South American qualifying. The team also began without Neymar, who was still recovering from a calf injury and had not played for Brazil since 2023 before missing the opener.
Morocco, meanwhile, arrived with the confidence of 2022 semifinalists and played with enough early sharpness to justify it. Mohamed Ouahbi had urged his side not to fear Brazil, and for much of the opening spell that approach fit the match: Morocco looked bolder, Brazil looked stretched, and the balance of the Group C opener tilted before Vinicius Jr found his moment.
Brazil next face Haiti, while Morocco move on to Scotland. The draw does not decide anything in Group C, but it does sharpen the pressure on Brazil to turn a cautious start into something closer to the standard expected of a team talking about a record sixth World Cup title.
