Brazil vs Morocco

The opener at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on 13 June is, structurally, the most informative match of Group C. Brazil have never beaten Morocco at a World Cup — they have never even played them at one — and Carlo Ancelotti’s first competitive tournament fixture as Brazil head coach is against a side that defeated his predecessors twice in three years (Morocco 2-1 in Tangier, March 2023; Brazil 3-1 in Lyon, September 2024). The Atlas Lions, now under Mohamed Ouahbi after Walid Regragui’s March 2026 resignation, retain the spine that took them to the 2022 semifinal: Hakimi, Bounou, Aguerd, Mazraoui, Amrabat. Brazil arrive with Vinícius Júnior at the front of an Ancelotti project that has, in friendlies, looked controlled rather than spectacular — five wins, two draws, three losses, including notable defeats to Japan and France during 2025-26.

The tactical clash is the most-watched individual matchup of the entire group stage: Vinícius Júnior vs. Achraf Hakimi. In the 2022 semifinal, Regragui asked Hakimi to narrow against Kylian Mbappé, defending the left half-space rather than overlapping. Ouahbi will almost certainly repeat that against Vinícius. The compensation will be Mazraoui at left-back, pushing higher to occupy Raphinha and prevent Brazil’s right-side overload. Brazil, in possession, will rotate Bruno Guimarães into deep build-up while leaving Casemiro as a screening No. 6. Out of possession, Brazil’s mid-to-high block will look to win the ball in Morocco’s half — but Amrabat’s press resistance, when fit, is among the best in the world, and Morocco’s vertical transitions through Brahim Díaz and Ezzalzouli have been a feature of every Ouahbi-era friendly.

The head-to-head is short but charged. Morocco’s 2-1 win in Tangier in March 2023, under interim coach Ramón Díaz, was the Atlas Lions’ first-ever victory over Brazil and made global headlines. The September 2024 return at Lyon, also a friendly, ended Brazil 3-1, restoring the standard order. That makes Saturday at MetLife — in front of an 82,500-capacity crowd, the largest of any group-stage fixture — a rubber match between two teams who know each other better than most opening-day pairings.

Venue and group context: New York/New Jersey Stadium (MetLife) is the World Cup final venue. It is the largest American-NFL stadium hosting the tournament. A Brazil-Morocco opener here, in front of a heavily-Brazilian Tristate Area crowd but with strong North African community presence in New Jersey, will draw the biggest TV audience of any non-host opening match. Group context: a Brazil win clinches the round of 16 path early; a Morocco win or draw turns the Scotland-Morocco game on 19 June into a knockout. The match is also a reunion: Brazil, Morocco, and Scotland were drawn together in Group A at France 1998. The repeat 28 years on, in a different country and a different stadium, is one of the strangest historical wrinkles of the entire tournament.