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Brazilian football expert Tim Vickery has made a scathing assessment of the Selecao's first 45 minutes at World Cup 2026.
Brazil kicked off World Cup 2026 with a shaky first half against Morocco, but somehow went into the break at 1-1 – with Vickery speaking at half-time on the BBC.
The journalist highlighted exactly why Carlo Ancelotti's side had been so bad, with two half-time substitutes from the Italian.
Ismail Saibari nets for Morocco against Brazil
“This is precisely why Brazil are so dangerous: how many teams can be that bad and still be in the game?” Vickery said. “They're playing Whack-A-Mole: Vinicius Jr is papering over the cracks.
“They're light in midfield, they have nothing down the right, so Raphinha is having to come out to that side. They're trying to find solutions during the course of the game.
“You can never discount Brazil, that individual talent can always hurt you.”
Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti raised a few eyebrows with his team selection, deploying Roger Ibanez and Douglas Santos at full-back while handing Brentford forward Igor Thiago the starting nod upfront.
The lineup faced an immediate baptism of fire: Morocco completely dominated the opening ten minutes, pinning the Selecao deep into their own penalty area and forcing them onto the back foot.
The North African side were so firmly in control that by the 11th minute, their fans were already taunting the Brazilians with ringing ‘Ole’ chants for every completed pass.
Despite being thoroughly outplayed early on, Brazil should have broken the deadlock against the run of play, when Thiago squandered a golden opportunity, failing to make contact with a pinpoint Vinicius Jr cross – only for Ismael Saibari to net a stunning lob over Alisson when Brahim Diaz played him through on goal.
That goal sparked the Brazilians into life, and shortly after the hydration break, Vinicius Jr had his first golden moment of the tournament with a stunning goal.
Lucas Paqueta could well have struck a second for the Selecao when his scissor kick was saved, with the resulting cross spinning past the head of any oncoming yellow shirt.
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