Vinicius’ strike earns Brazil a 1-1 draw with determined Morocco in New York

New York: Brazil and Morocco played out a 1-1 draw in Group C as Vinicius Jr and Ismael Saibari exchanged brilliant goals at a packed New York Stadium on Sunday.

Morocco opened the scoring when Brahim Diaz threaded a perfectly timed through ball to Saibari, who lifted a composed finish over the advancing Alisson. Brazil responded before halftime through Vinicius, who cut inside from the left after a Bruno Guimarães pass and unleashed a powerful right-foot shot that beat Yassine Bounou.

The result continued an unusual trend: this is the first time Vinicius has scored for Brazil without the side winning; his previous eight international goals had all come in victories.

Both keepers produced key saves. Shortly before the break, Bounou pushed away a swerving effort from Lucas Paquetá, and in the second half he kept out another threat after Vinicius set up Raphinha. Alisson also made a sharp stop late on to deny a long-range attempt from Neil El Aynaoui and then prevented the rebound chance.

Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti acknowledged a shaky start: " I think we didn't start very well, I'm a little worried. We lost a lot of duels and possession, but we improved in the second half of a difficult match, because Morocco is a good team. In the first half, we had difficulty getting out of the pressure, we could have had more control. Was I Satisfied? Not really. I expected a better start. But things can happen. Now I'm going to focus on the next game."

The draw leaves both teams with work to do in Group C as the tournament progresses.

(Inputs from IANS)