Brazil and Morocco will meet for their eagerly-anticipated 2026 FIFA World Cup Group C opening match, set for the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on the morning of Sunday 14 June. Kick-off is at 12am CAT.
FORM
Brazil warmed up for the World Cup with back-to-back friendly wins over Panama (6-2) and Egypt (2-1) on 31 May and 7 June respectively. In the latter match, the Seleção triumphed in Cleveland thanks to goals from Bruno Guimaraes and Endrick, but suffered a major injury blow when fullback Wesley Franca was forced off after just a quarter hour of play.
Brazil are the most successful team in World Cup history, having won five titles and appeared at every single tournament dating back all the way to 1930. However, the South American heavyweights have not won the World Cup since 2002 and have exited four of the last five editions at the quarterfinal stage.
Morocco’s warm-up programme saw them crush Burundi 5-0 and Madagascar 4-0 before a 1-1 draw with Norway in a friendly in New Jersey this past weekend. The Atlas Lions led for most of the match, before Martin Odegaard levelled for the Europeans with 15 minutes to play.
The match saw Abde Ezzalzouli and Noussair Mazraoui both leave the field with injuries – the former player is doubtful for the clash with Brazil, while the latter should be fit to start.
Morocco will be appearing at their seventh World Cup and looking to build on their outstanding showing in Qatar 2022 when they became the first African team to reach the semifinals – eliminating the likes of Belgium, Spain and Portugal before succumbing to France in the penultimate round.
WHAT THE TEAMS ARE SAYING
Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti knows that Morocco will be a tough opponent in their World Cup opener: “It is difficult to score against the Moroccan national team; it requires a distinctive attacking performance. Haiti and Scotland are teams that rely on physical strength, but they lack individual skill compared to Morocco, and they rely heavily on physical play.”
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi believes his team will be inspired by the challenge offered by the Selecao: “Against Brazil, we will show a better side of ourselves, with a lot of commitment and determination to make the Moroccan fans proud, InshaAllah.”
HEAD-TO-HEAD
In the teams’ most recent meeting, the North Africans defeated Brazil 2-1 (thanks to goals from Sofiane Boufal and Abdelhamid Sabiri) in an international friendly in Tangiers in March 2023 – just a few months after the Atlas Lions’ historic run to the 2022 World Cup semifinals.
The teams have met three times overall, with Brazil claiming two wins: 2-0 in a friendly in October 1997, and 3-0 in a World Cup group stage match in France 1998 – with goals from legends Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Bebeto in the latter.
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