Vinícius Júnior scored an equalizing goal in the 32nd minute, giving five-time champion Brazil a 1-1 draw against Morocco on Saturday in a pulsating, high-profile group match at the World Cup.
A semifinalist four years ago, Morocco dominated early, and Ismael Saibari put the African champions ahead in the 21st minute.
Brazil evened the score 11 minutes later. Vinícius exchanged passes with Bruno Guimarães on the left flank, took touches to make space and rifled a right-footed shot past the outstretched arm of Yassine Bounou for his 10th international goal.
“We started on a really bad note,” Vinícius said through a translator. “For certain, we got to hold on to the ball. We have to move better.”
Brazil, seeking its first World Cup title since 2002, entered the tournament with high expectations and yellow-clad Seleção fans who dominated the crowd of 80,663 at MetLife Stadium became a bit subdued before Vinícius evened the score with his spectacular angled effort.
No. 6 Brazil and seventh-ranked Morocco are the only top-10 teams to meet in the first round of the expanded 48-nation World Cup tournament.
Despite shaky moments, Brazil managed to extend its unbeaten streak in World Cup openers to 21, including 17 wins, since a 1934 loss to Spain.
Brazil plays Haiti on Friday in Philadelphia, then closes Group C against Scotland in Miami Gardens, Fl. Morocco faces Scotland in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Friday, then meets Haiti in Atlanta.
Brazil star Neymar, recovering from a torn right calf, didn’t dress for the game.
One hour before the match, an Uber from Times Square to the stadium, site of next month’s final, was $126.95 — up from $83.95 for advance booking for the same time Sunday.
Carlo Ancelotti, the Italian who became Brazil’s first foreign World Cup coach, wore a three-piece suit with a necktie on a sunny afternoon with a 88-degree temperature for the 6 p.m. start.
Morocco went ahead after Lucas Paquetá lost control of a short pass from Roger Ibañez and knocked it off Bilal El Khannouss. It bounced to Noussair Mazraoui, who sent the ball to Brahim Díaz in the center circle.
His through pass split Gabriel Magalhães and Marquinho, and Saibari ran onto the ball at the top of the arc. Alisson Becker was slow to come off his line and Saibari chipped the ball over the goalkeeper for his 10th international goal.
Morocco nearly went back ahead in the ninth of 10 minutes of stoppage time. Alisson spilled Neil El Aynaoui’s long-range shot, which was headed wide, then while on the grass leaned back toward the goal and used his right hand to block Ayoube Amaimouni’s follow-up effort.
Qatar 1, Switzerland 1 — Boualem Khoukhi scored an equalizing goal on a header in the fourth minute of stoppage time, and Qatar spoiled a dominant day by Switzerland in a draw in Group B of the World Cup.
Several of the Qatari players fell to the ground in celebration of the late goal as others ran to each other to embrace.
Breel Embolo scored for Switzerland from the penalty spot in the first half just over a week after being cleared to enter the U.S. following a visa delay, but the Swiss failed to capitalize on multiple other scoring chances.
In the 13th minute, Embolo was fouled by Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada, who received a yellow card on the play. Abunada lay face down and appeared motionless for a couple of minutes before he began to move his legs and was able to stand up again.
When Embolo calmly sent his penalty into the upper-left corner in the 17th minute, it sent the red-clad Swiss fans into a dancing frenzy in the stands of Levi’s Stadium.
The 29-year-old forward applied for an urgent visa at the United States embassy in Bern on June 3, one day after he was denied boarding the team’s flight to travel for his third World Cup because of a 2018 criminal conviction that was only finalized in April.
Switzerland dominated the possession game on an unseasonably warm June afternoon — with sprinklers running during a first-half break.
There were thousands of empty seats scattered throughout Levi’s Stadium, home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. Brazil and Colombia drew 70,971 two years ago in a group match at Copa America. The stadium in Santa Clara staged the Super Bowl only four months ago.