Di Met Life Stadium for New York dey set to explode as Brazil and Morocco prepare to open di World Cup with a bang. Dis na di first major match of di tournament, and both teams get plenty to prove.
Brazil, di five-time world champion, don dey struggle to find dia old magic. Since dia last title in 2002, di team don suffer many disappointments, including di painful 7-1 loss to Germany for home soil in 2014. Di generation led by Neymar never fit bring di trophy back to Brasilia.
For dis tournament, di Brazilian federation make a historic change by appointing Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti. But di new coach face problems during di qualifiers, finishing in a disappointing 5th place for South America. Di preparation matches show mixed results: a worrying defeat against France even when France get red card (1-2), a draw with Tunisia (1-1), but also big wins against Panama (6-0 and 6-2) and Croatia (3-1).
For dia final warm-up match, Brazil beat Egypt 2-1 with goals from Bruno Guimarães and young star Endrick, while Marquinhos earn im 105th cap. Without Neymar wey dem dey preserve, di attack now rest on VinÃcius Júnior and Raphinha.
On di other side, Morocco enter di tournament with a new status. Dem become di first African nation to reach di semi-finals of a World Cup for Qatar 2022, and dem also win di Africa Cup of Nations after di disqualification of Senegal. After coach Walid Regragui leave, Mohamed Ouahbi take over and lead di team to perfect qualifiers: 8 wins out of 8 matches, with 22 goals scored and only 2 conceded.
Di Lions of di Atlas remain unbeaten since August 2025, showing strong form with big wins against Burundi (5-0) and Madagascar (4-0). Recently dem hold Norway to a 1-1 draw, with Brahim DÃaz scoring early. But coach Ouahbi get injury worries: Noussair Mazraoui and Anass SalahEddine already out, and Abde Ezzalzouli go miss di entire group stage due to injury.
Achraf Hakimi and Yassine Bounou go need to lead di young talents like Ayyoub Bouaddi and Guessime Yassine against di Brazilian giant.
