The North African team from Morocco, who reached the semi-finals in Qatar in 2022, is eager to demonstrate their skills on the global stage, as expressed by their captain, Achraf Hakimi.
At New York New Jersey Stadium later this evening, Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil will take on New York’s Atlas Lions. Confident leading up to the game are head coach Mohamed Ouahbi and captain Achraf Hakimi
One of the group stage highlights of the FIFA World Cup 2026, this match will be. Though Ancelotti’s debut World Cup™ as a coach will take centre stage, many are also interested in whether Morocco can replicate their strong Qatar showing.
Both teams are now at ground zero. Achraf Hakimi, the captain, thinks this is accurate. Though Morocco has only five World Cup victories, compared to Brazil’s five championships, he discounted the notion that they were underdogs.
Hakimi commented, “In a game like this, in a tournament like the World Cup, there are no favourites.” “That’s half and half. It boils down to the minute details and which team is more efficient. That will be us, fingers crossed.
The current surge of Morocco in international football gives Hakimi his confidence. Their Qatar performance has enabled them to keep developing.
Mohamed Ouahbi, the coach, also feels good about the team’s attitude. Having won the U-20 tournament last September, this will be his first time leading Morocco in a FIFA men’s competition. “We believe in the players and the work we’ve done,” he added. The games will tell us where we are.
Morocco has never played South American teams in the first FIFA World Cup games and has not won any of them. In their most recent match against a South American team, they fell 3-0 in Nantes to Brazil in 1998.
Brazil knows Morocco has come a long way since then. Vinicius Júnior said, “Morocco has definitely improved a lot.” They are well managed and able to rival anyone. The game has changed, and Morocco is in it.
Having lost 2-1 to the Atlas Lions in a friendly in March 2023, Brazil knows Morocco can be among the best teams.
