Morocco defeated Brazil 2-1 in a friendly match on Saturday in Tangier thanks to goals from Sofiane Boufal and Abdelhamid Sabiri, giving them their first-ever win over the five-time world champions.
semi-finalists for the World Cup After a stellar Qatar 2022 campaign, Morocco didn’t hold back and defeated soccer powerhouse Brazil in their first home encounter.
Morocco attempted to make an early run while being cheered on by 65,000 spectators in a packed Ibn Batouta stadium in Tangier, but a steady Brazil held firm. The game nearly descended into unrest when the Brazilian players complained angrily to the referee after a string of poor tackles by the local defenders.
Morocco was always deadly in counterattacks, while Brazil was more aggressive and had better possession.
In the 13th minute, Palmeiras winger Rony, who was making his professional debut for the Brazilian side, missed a clear-cut opportunity from close range.
In the 22nd minute, goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made a hilarious error while attempting to place the ball in play with his feet, but Rony’s attempt to score into an empty net was blocked by a defender, and Bounou recovered in time to stop Vinicius’ attempt from the rebound.
One minute later, Bono again made an error by giving the ball to Vinicius, who scored an empty-net goal. However, the VAR disallowed the goal because of a contentious offside that occurred during the buildup, prompting the Brazilian players to yell at Tunisian referee Sadok Selmi.
As soon as Emerson Royal relinquished possession of the ball inside his own penalty area, Morocco seized the chance, with Bilal El Khannous setting up Sofiane Boufal for a close-range goal.
Before the break, Morocco’s Hakim Ziyech missed two excellent opportunities to score, and Rodrygo’s edge-of-the-area shot was stopped by goalkeeper Bounou with a Hollywood save.
Bounou made a rookie error by failing to hang on to Casemiro’s weak shot, allowing the ball to slip under him and into the goal in the 67th minute, giving Brazil the equalizer.
Twelve minutes later, however, the home team responded through the efforts of substitute Abdelhamid Sabiri, who pounced on a loose ball inside the Brazilian penalty area and unleashed an unstoppable shot that bounced off the crossbar and into the goal.
The team and supporters required it to wrap up their celebrations.
The World Cup run by Morocco, who made history by becoming the first African team to reach the semifinals and the first Arab team to reach the quarterfinals, filled their fans with satisfaction once more.
