Morocco stunned Brazil after claiming their first-ever victory over the five-time world champions following their shock 2-1 win in an international friendly.
Midfielder Sofiane Boufal, who used to play for Southampton and now plays for Al Rayyan in Qatar, gave Morocco the lead after 29 minutes. Boufal took a pass from Bilal El Khannous, turned, and drove the ball hard into the goal.
Casemiro, the captain of Brazil, tied the game in the 67th minute when goalkeeper Yassine Bounou messed up a weak shot by Casemiro.
But Abdelhamid Sabiri, a midfielder on loan from Sampdoria, scored the winning goal with a volley in the 79th minute. This showed that last year, when Morocco became the first Arab or African country to reach the World Cup semifinals, it wasn’t a fluke.
“I wouldn’t say we lacked understanding, it’s about putting into practice the ideas of a new coach,” said Manchester United’s Casemiro.
“I think we played a good game and did everything as far as possible to win.”
Only 10 of Brazil’s 23-person team that lost in the quarterfinals of the World Cup was in Morocco for the game.
Neymar was still hurt, so his number 10 shirt went to Rodrygo, a young player for Real Madrid.
Brazil also had a new manager. Interim coach Ramon Menezes took over for Tite, who quit after Brazil lost to Croatia in the last eight of the World Cup.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) wants to know who its new coach will be before qualifying for the 2026 World Cup starts in September.
Brazilian media say that Carlo Ancelotti, who is in charge of Real Madrid right now, is the CBF’s first choice.
But no one expects him to decide what will happen with him before the end of the European season.
Before the game started at the Ibn Batouta stadium, both teams paid tribute to Pele, who died at the age of 82 in December.
Before Saturday, Morocco had only played Brazil twice, and both times they lost. In a 1997 friendly, they lost 2-0, and in the group stages of the 1998 World Cup in France, they lost 3-0.
Photo by EPA/Jalal Morchidi
