{"id":2000115576,"date":"2026-06-14T08:08:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T06:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000115576"},"modified":"2026-06-14T10:56:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T08:56:00","slug":"brazil-and-morocco-share-spoils-in-early-world-cup-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/brazil-and-morocco-share-spoils-in-early-world-cup-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazil and Morocco share spoils in early World Cup test"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a highly anticipated Group C clash in New York last night, Morocco made the brighter start and stunned the five-time world champions with an impressive opening goal. Midfielder Ismael Saibari capitalised on a perfectly weighted pass from Brahim Diaz, breaking through Brazil&#8217;s defence before calmly lifting the ball over goalkeeper Alisson to give the Atlas Lions an early lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Morocco&#8217;s energetic display reflected the confidence of a side that reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup and remains Africa&#8217;s most successful nation at the tournament. The North Africans pressed aggressively and looked the more cohesive team during much of the first half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brazil, however, needed only a moment of brilliance to restore parity. Vinicius Junior, one of the Sele\u00e7\u00e3o&#8217;s biggest attacking threats, combined neatly with Bruno Guimaraes before cutting inside and curling a superb strike into the top corner. The spectacular finish brought Carlo Ancelotti&#8217;s side level against the run of play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The second half remained competitive, with both teams creating opportunities but neither able to find a decisive breakthrough. Morocco defended resolutely while Brazil searched for a winner through their array of attacking talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The draw leaves both sides with a point from their opening match in what could prove to be one of the tournament&#8217;s most competitive groups. It was also the only opening-round meeting between two top-10 ranked teams in the expanded 48-nation World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Elsewhere in Group C, Scotland moved to the top of the standings with a 1-0 victory over Haiti, taking advantage of the points dropped by both Brazil and Morocco in their opening encounter. <strong>Four matches were played on Saturday across Groups B, C and D: Switzerland 1-1 Qatar, Australia 2-0 T\u00fcrkiye, and Scotland 1-0 Haiti.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"799\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/Brazil-Vs-Morocco-FIFA-World-Cup-2026-Group-C-Vinicius-Celebrations-2-AP-Photo.avif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000115588\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Vin\u00edcius J\u00fanior scored the equaliser for Brazil, who were held by Morocco on Saturday.<br><br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" data-id=\"2000115579\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/Brazil-Vs-Morocco-FIFA-World-Cup-2026-Group-C-Neil-El-Aynaoui-Attempt-AP-Photo.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000115579\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Morocco&#8217;s Neil El Aynaoui, right, attempts a shot on goal during the World Cup Group C soccer match between Brazil and Morocco in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Saturday, June 13, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" data-id=\"2000115580\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/Brazil-Vs-Morocco-FIFA-World-Cup-2026-Group-C-Casemiro-Neil-El-Aynaoui-AP-Photo.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000115580\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Brazil&#8217;s Casemiro, left, challenges for the ball with Morocco&#8217;s Neil El Aynaoui (24) during the World Cup Group C soccer match between Brazil and Morocco in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Saturday, June 13, 2026.<br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" data-id=\"2000115578\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/Brazil-Vs-Morocco-FIFA-World-Cup-2026-Group-C-Brazil-Fans-AP-Photo.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000115578\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fans wait for the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Group C opener between Brazil and Morocco in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Saturday, June 13, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" data-id=\"2000115581\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/Brazil-Vs-Morocco-FIFA-World-Cup-2026-Group-C-Fans-Arrive-AP-Photo.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000115581\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Spectators start to arrive to take their seats ahead of the World Cup Group C soccer match between Brazil and Morocco in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Saturday, June 13, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" data-id=\"2000115582\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/Brazil-Vs-Morocco-FIFA-World-Cup-2026-Group-C-Morocco-Fans-AP-Photo.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000115582\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Morocco fans before the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Group C soccer match between Brazil and Morocco in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Saturday, June 13, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brazil and Morocco played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in one of the standout fixtures of the opening round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with both sides showing why they are considered among the tournament&#8217;s strongest contenders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000115577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[151],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000115576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-editors-choice","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000115577,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/r1672661_1296x729_16-9.jpg","alt":"","caption":"Vin\u00edcius J\u00fanior scored the equaliser for Brazil, who were held by Morocco on Saturday.\n","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1296,"height":729,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/r1672661_1296x729_16-9.jpg","width":1296,"height":729},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/r1672661_1296x729_16-9.jpg","width":1296,"height":729},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/r1672661_1296x729_16-9.jpg","width":1296,"height":729},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/r1672661_1296x729_16-9.jpg","width":1296,"height":729},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/r1672661_1296x729_16-9.jpg","width":1296,"height":729}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000115576"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000115589,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115576\/revisions\/2000115589"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000115577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000115576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000115576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000115576"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000115576"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000115576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}