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Morocco coach warns World Cup rivals after dominating Brazil in 1-1 draw
While their fans were outnumbered at New York New Jersey stadium, Morocco gave them plenty to cheer for with a strong performance against the five-times champions
- PUBLISHED: Sun 14 Jun 2026, 12:20 PM
Morocco are hungry to go beyond the semifinals at the World Cup, coach Mohamed Ouahbi said after his side earned a 1-1 draw with powerhouse Brazil in their opener on Saturday.
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Ouahbi had said ahead of the match that Morocco were prepared to shed their underdog image, four years after they knocked out Spain and Portugal to become the first African team to reach the final four in Qatar.
While their fans were outnumbered at the sold-out New York New Jersey stadium, Morocco gave them plenty to cheer for with a strong performance against the five-times champions.
Ismael Saibari gave Morocco the first-half lead against the disjointed Brazilian team on Saturday, before Vinicius Jr levelled it in the 32nd minute.
Second-half substitutions brought "freshness" to the team as mistakes began to pile up in the intense contest, Ouahbi said.
"I don’t know if 20% of the crowd were Moroccans, but we could hear them very loudly. If it was only 20%, they fooled me into thinking there were many more of them there," said Ouahbi. "I hope they had great fun watching a good match tonight, and I hope this will continue."
"For the future of Moroccan football, we are confident. We drew; we’re happy. I’m not sad. We would have wanted to win, obviously, but I’m not sad," said Ouahbi. "What I’m really proud of is that we’re bold enough to play and ask for the ball under pressure. This is a great quality that we have."
The draw sees the two teams each earn one point with Haiti playing Scotland in the second Group C match on Saturday in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
"I want to go beyond the semi-finals but it was a good match," Ouahbi told reporters. "One is good enough and we'll improve."
Meanwhile, Brazil's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted that his team showed nerves in the opening game.
"I think the team was a bit anxious in the beginning," said Ancelotti, who himself was managing his first match at a World Cup despite a career that includes a record five Uefa Champions League titles as a manager.
"Nerves were all over the place. (We) didn't keep a lot of ball possession. In the second half, it was a lot better, but it was still tough, and I'm sure the team will do better in the next match."
The Selecao's performance improved after halftime, during which Ancelotti pulled off Casemiro and Roger Ibanez in favour of Fabinho and Danilo.
But there remained a sense of unease at the final whistle even from Vinicius, who was undoubtedly his nation's best player.
"We've got to hold on to the ball," said the 25-year-old Real Madrid star. "We've got to move better. ... But I don't think there's a lot to say now. I think we really have to improve."
Even the usually easy-mannered Ancelotti sounded on edge at a couple lines of questioning, including whether he opted for changes quickly enough.
"There were two substitutions in the 45th minute and another in the (61st) minute," he said. "Do you hear what I'm saying? Two substitutions at 45th minute and another substitution at the (61st) minute. I don't think we lost any time when it comes to substitutions."
Ancelotti refused to criticise Casemiro or Ibanez directly, or express regret for fielding them in his starting XI. At age 34, Casemiro is out of contract at Manchester United and rumored to be leaving Europe. Ibanez plays in the Saudi Pro League.
"Those were good players," Ancelotti said. "I think I made the right choices, and I will not take any criticism about the individual players that started the match. I think there's criticism to the entire team that didn't play well during the first half."
A potential saving grace, at least for the rest of group play, is that Saturday's match was easily Brazil's toughest Group C test on paper. Morocco is seventh in the Fifa World Rankings, only a single spot behind No. 6 Brazil.
Scotland is 37th and Haiti is 84th. Scotland edged Haiti 1-0 on Saturday night in the first World Cup match for either team since 1998 for Scotland and 1974 for Haiti.