Published on 6/14/2026
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Last update: 05:16 (Mecca time)
The Moroccan national team, the fourth in the last edition of the World Cup, embarrassed its counterpart Brazil, the record holder with the number of titles (5), when it forced it to a draw (1-1) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey/New York, in the first round of the third group competitions in the 2026 World Cup.
No defeat
The match between Brazil and Morocco produced some distinguished numbers, some of which were absolutely historical, as the Brazilian national team did not lose in its opening match in the World Cup during the last 21 consecutive editions since 1938, winning 7 matches and drawing 4.
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This is the longest series of this kind in the history of the World Cup, with a difference of more than double that of its closest competitors, namely Germany and the Netherlands, which avoided losing in the first match during 9 consecutive editions.
Morocco, in turn, did not lose in its last 5 matches in the group stage of the FIFA World Cup, winning two matches and drawing three, marking its longest streak in this tournament, surpassing its previous record of 4 wins and three draws between 1970 and 1986.
The first is against the Seleção
Morocco also scored its first point and scored its first goal against a South American team in the World Cup (after two previous 0-3 losses to Peru in 1970 and Brazil in 1998).
Morocco also became the first Arab team to score a positive result against the Seleção in the World Cup, after two previous confrontations with Algeria in 1986 and Morocco in 1998 resulted in Brazil winning.
The Moroccan national team shot 12 shots in the first half against Brazil, but did not succeed in scoring any shot attempts after the break until the ninth minute of stoppage time in the second half.
Tactical privilege
Tactically, Morocco has become only the second team since 1966 to score at least five shots during the first 10 minutes against Brazil in a World Cup match, joining Portugal, which achieved this feat in the 1966 World Cup.
The Moroccan national team also recorded two of the best 4 matches in the history of its participation in the World Cup in terms of the number of passes in the attacking third, after completing 157 passes in this match against Brazil and 137 passes against Brazil also in the 1998 edition. Its highest record remains 190 passes against Saudi Arabia in the 1994 World Cup.
Achraf Hakimi participated for the 11th time with the Moroccan national team in the FIFA World Cup, equaling the record for the largest number of participations by an African player in the history of the tournament, equal to Francois Omam Bike, the Cameroon player, and Asamoah Gyan, the Ghana player.
In addition to scoring Morocco’s opening goal against Brazil, Ismael Sibari made 100 pressures during the match, equaling the highest tally of any player in a single match in the 2026 World Cup, also recorded by Paraguayan player Andres Cubas (100).
While Vinicius Junior scored his tenth goal with the Brazilian national team, 3 of them came on American soil, and this is surpassed only by the goals he scored inside Brazil itself (4 goals). Brazil had also won all 8 previous matches in which Vinicius scored, before drawing for the first time in a match in which he scored the opponent’s goal.
