Brazil avoided a shock defeat in their opening match of the FIFA World Cup after Vinicius Jr produced a moment of brilliance to rescue a 1-1 draw against Morocco at the New York New Jersey Stadium.
The five-time world champions found themselves behind in the 21st minute after a costly misunderstanding between goalkeeper Alisson Becker and defenders Gabriel and Marquinhos allowed Ismael Saibari to pounce. The Moroccan forward spotted Alisson off his line and delicately lifted the ball over the Liverpool goalkeeper from outside the box to give the African champions a surprise lead.
The goal was historic for Morocco, marking the first time they had scored against South American opposition at the World Cup after drawing blanks against Peru in 1970 and Brazil in 1998.
Morocco continued to pile pressure on Brazil and had fired 12 shots by the half-hour mark — the most attempts Brazil have faced in a World Cup game since taking on Mexico in 2018.
Despite Morocco’s dominance, Brazil found an equaliser 13 minutes before half-time through Vinicius Jr. On his 50th appearance for the Selecao, the Real Madrid star received a pass from Bruno Guimaraes inside the penalty area, shifted the ball onto his right foot and blasted an unstoppable effort past Yassine Bounou.
Lucas Paqueta nearly completed the turnaround for Brazil in first-half stoppage time, but his spectacular overhead effort was brilliantly pushed behind for a corner.
With legends from Brazil’s victorious 2002 World Cup squad, including Ronaldo, Kaka and Roberto Carlos, watching from the stands, Carlo Ancelotti’s men improved after the break and began to take control of possession.
However, clear-cut opportunities remained scarce. Raphinha came closest to snatching a winner when he narrowly failed to connect with a dangerous low cross from Guimaraes that flashed across the face of goal.
The result means Morocco are still searching for their first victory in an opening World Cup match, while Brazil extended their remarkable unbeaten run in tournament openers, a streak that now stretches back 92 years.
