Vinicius drags low-key Brazil level against dominant Morocco at World Cup

Vinicius Jr’s individual efforts lift Brazil’s struggle in team’s 2026 tournament opener against Africa champions Morocco.Vinicius Junior scored a brilliant equaliser for Brazil in a 1-1 draw with Morocco as the five-time World Cup winners made an uncertain start to the tournament in New Jersey.Ismael Saibari ran through to give Morocco a 21st-minute lead with a clever scoop in the Group C opener on Saturday, but Vinicius produced a moment of magic to ensure Brazil came away with a point.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Ten observations after attending a World Cup match in the USlist 2 of 4Keepy-up cop wows fans with football skills at World Cup event in Bostonlist 3 of 4Oval Office octagon: How Trump turned combat sports into a political weaponlist 4 of 4Fans reveal how much they paid for World Cup ticketsend of listBrazil are chasing a record sixth World Cup title, 24 years after last lifting the trophy, but this performance suggests there is a lot of work to be done by Carlo Ancelotti’s side.Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Kaka were all members of Brazil’s 2002 World Cup-winning squad and were among those in attendance at New York New Jersey Stadium.Brazil have turned to the hugely successful Ancelotti in a bid to end the country’s title drought. He is the first foreign coach to lead Brazil at football’s biggest tournament.A fifth-placed finish in South American qualifying underlined the scale of the challenge facing Ancelotti. However, the Italian insists Brazil possess a squad capable of competing with anyone in the expanded 48-team tournament.He was without Neymar for the start of the competition, with Brazil’s all-time record goalscorer still recovering from a calf injury, having not played for his country since 2023.Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi urged his players not to fear Brazil, and his message appeared to resonate as the 2022 semifinalists started brightly in one of the standout matches of the first round.After Neil El Aynaoui and Achraf Hakimi threatened the Brazil goal, Saibari made the breakthrough when he latched onto a fine pass from Brahim Diaz.