Vinicius Jr scores a spectacular solo goal to earn a draw for five-time winners Brazil against Morocco at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

So it turns out that Carlo Ancelotti is no miracle worker. After watching his side fall behind to Ismael Saibari’s brilliant opening goal, the Brazil manager needed a big favour from Vinícius Júnior to ensure the five-time World Cup winners’ first match of the 2026 edition did not end in an embarrassing defeat.For large portions of an absorbing first half that hopefully set the tone for the rest of the tournament, Brazil found themselves chasing shadows as Casemiro and Bruno Guimarães struggled to contain a Morocco midfield anchored by the outstanding teenager Ayyoub Bouaddi. But after Times Square was transformed into a tapestry of yellow and red shirts on Friday night as both sets of fans warmed up for one of the most anticipated matches of the group stages, it was the Real Madrid forward who has been heavily criticised for failing to produce his club form on the international stage who gave the Brazil supporters something to celebrate. Continue reading...

Morocco's Ismael Saibari fires his side into the lead against Brazil with a clinical finish in the 21st minute of their Group C match at the 2026 World Cup.

⚽️ World Cup kick-off 6pm EST, 11pm BST, 8am Sun AEST⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Email JeffWhile it was always a reach to project this tournament would feel like 104 Super Bowls, some matchups inevitably fit the blockbuster billing. Brazil and Morocco’s opener in Group C is this tournament’s first glamour fixture, pitting the five-time champions against the dark horse darlings of 2022, who arrive in great form.Few know exactly what to expect from Carlo Ancelotti’s first World Cup on the touchline. A gilded figure on the club side, Ancelotti picked a squad teeming with stout center-backs and dynamic dribblers, but with some uncertainty in midfield, at full-back, and up top. Endrick finally taking a long-awaited leap would do wonders to assuage those latter concerns, and will most likely be necessary if Brazil are to snap their 24-year drought. Continue reading...

The US version of the tournament’s opening ceremony helpfully focused on one of its main themes: aspirational consumerismThe 2026 World Cup: a festival of football; a moment to revel in upsets, spectacular goals, stars made, and reputations ruined; a test of Didier Deschamps’s unshakable addiction to Adrien Rabiot. But also: a celebration of America; a chance for Fox Sports to prove the haters wrong; a social experiment to see how long Thierry Henry can last on set with Alexi Lalas before resorting to physical violence. “This is going to be filled with American fans,” Lalas shrieked as Los Angeles Stadium began to swell with spectators before the US’s opening match against Paraguay. “This is going to be bursting at the seams with America!”But where was the pomp, the bombast, the Americana? The US opening ceremony – the third and final installment in the trio of launch parties for this supertanker of a World Cup – didn’t quite live up to the Lalasian hype. This was a ceremony with all the charm of Rob Stone in his pocket square fake-smiling as he says the immortal words, “Brazil v Morocco, live tomorrow from New York New Jersey, brought to you by Verizon”: a ceremony that felt oddly flat, but was trying all the same. It was almost as if Fifa had absorbed all the pre-tournament criticism and decided: “You know what? We just can’t be bothered.” But Friday’s launch did still offer a sense for how this tournament will play out as a cultural spectacle. The early verdict: this is a World Cup built above all to accommodate the insatiable needs of American TV. Fox Sports is not simply the host broadcaster for this World Cup; it is the tournament’s very soul. If that’s the type of sentence that gives you hives, the next five weeks will best be watched on mute (or Telemundo). Continue reading...

Last triumph was in 2002 but Italian head coach, without Neymar against Morocco, brings ‘joy and enthusiasm’It is Marcio Santos who best sums up the predicament Brazil’s players found themselves in before the 1994 World Cup. “We hadn’t won in 24 years. That’s way too long for the Brazilian people,” remembers the former defender in the new Netflix documentary USA 94: Brazil’s Return to Glory. Having suffered the ignominy of a first-ever defeat in qualifying that prompted the manager, Carlos Alberto Parreira, to offer to step down the fabled Romário and Bebeto strike partnership inspired the Seleção to win a fourth World Cup the last time the tournament was held on American soil.Some 32 years on, Brazil supporters will be hoping history is about to repeat itself for Carlo Ancelotti’s side as they prepare for the most awkward of opening matches against Morocco, who became the first African country to reach the last four, in 2022. The World Cup’s most successful nation has only made it past the quarter-final stage once since Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo sealed a fifth title in 2002 – and everyone remembers what has happened since then. Neymar is the only surviving squad member from the 7-1 semi-final thrashing against Germany in 2014 – aka the Mineiraço – albeit he was forced to watch the nightmare unfold from the sidelines after being injured in the previous round against Colombia. Continue reading...

Scotland face Haiti in Boston next SaturdayHaiti beat New Zealand 4-0 in Florida friendlyNapoli’s Billy Gilmour ruled out of World CupSteve Clarke believes Haiti’s routing of New Zealand could be useful as a means of dispelling Scottish arrogance towards their first World Cup opponents. The 4-0 win for Haiti in Florida turned heads in Scotland, when a victory for Clarke’s team over the 82nd-ranked team in the world seen as essential for progression from a Group C that also includes Morocco and Brazil. Scotland take on Haiti in Boston next Saturday.“They were good the other night, I think you could see that,” said Clarke. “We have a terrible habit, not just in Scotland but the UK in general, of looking at these nations and thinking they are not very good or looking at where they are ranked in the world. They play in a different section of the world. Maybe their section is really good. Continue reading...