EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey — Vinícius Júnior rescued five-time champion Brazil from a shock defeat after scoring the equalizer in a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Morocco in their FIFA World Cup Group C opener Saturday at MetLife Stadium.
The Real Madrid star delivered when Brazil needed him most, cancelling out Morocco’s first-half lead and preserving the Seleção’s remarkable unbeaten streak in World Cup opening matches, which now stands at 21 consecutive tournaments dating back to 1934.
Morocco stunned the South American powerhouse in the 21st minute when Ismael Saibari capitalized on a Brazilian midfield mistake and finished clinically to hand the North Africans a 1-0 advantage.
The Moroccans continued to trouble Brazil with their disciplined defending and dangerous counterattacks, threatening to pull off one of the tournament’s early surprises.
But Vinícius responded before halftime, combining with Bruno Guimarães on the left flank before creating space for himself and unleashing a powerful right-footed strike past Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou to level the match at 1-1.
Brazil gradually gained control after a shaky start and created several opportunities in the second half, but Morocco’s defense held firm to secure a valuable point.
The result allowed Brazil to extend its impressive record in World Cup openers despite being tested by a determined Moroccan side.
The Seleção, now coached by Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti, played without injured superstar Neymar, who remains sidelined while recovering from a torn calf muscle.
In another Group C match, co-host United States launched its World Cup campaign in dominant fashion with a 4-1 victory over Paraguay before an energized crowd at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Folarin Balogun starred for the Americans with two first-half goals as Mauricio Pochettino’s squad seized command early and never relinquished it.
The United States opened the scoring in the seventh minute through an own goal by Paraguay midfielder Damián Bobadilla. Balogun then struck twice before Malik Tillman added the final goal to complete the convincing victory.
Elsewhere, Scotland edged Haiti, 1-0; Canada and Bosnia-Herzegovina settled for a 1-1 draw; while Qatar and Switzerland also played to a 1-1 stalemate./PN
