A positive 1-1 draw imposed itself on Morocco and Brazil, on Sunday morning, in the first round of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup.
Morocco, the better side, were the better side for most of the match, and had a wide range of dangerous chances, but failed to translate them into goals.
Morocco entered the match with intense offensive pressure, which resulted in scoring a wonderful goal signed by Ismail Sibari, after a distinctive pass from Ibrahim Diaz in the 21st minute, and the Moroccan national team almost quickly consolidated its lead from Diaz's shot, but goalkeeper Alisson Baker saved it steadily.
Brazil, on the other hand, quickly organized their ranks, and realized the equalizer from a wonderful shot by Vinicius Junior in the 32nd minute from inside the box.
The Moroccan and Brazilian teams entered the second half with defensive caution to avoid shaking the net, and Mohamed Wehbe, the coach of the Atlas Lions, pushed the duo of Chamseddine Talebi and Samir Al-Marabet in the 65th minute, instead of Diaz and Azzedine Ounahi.
Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou saved more than one dangerous opportunity for Samba, and fell to the ground after an unintentional intervention by Raphinha, and in the 89th minute, Wehbe decided to withdraw Ismail Sibari and involve Sofiane Rahimi, to try to snatch the winning goal.
Morocco almost scored the winning goal from Nael El Ainaoui's shot, but goalkeeper Alisson Baker took the ball out for a corner kick, and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Morocco and Brazil are in Group C, next to Haiti and Scotland.
Qatar wins first point in World Cup
The Swiss national team collapsed in the final moments of its opening match in the 2026 World Cup, and was content with a draw with Qatar (1-1) on Saturday evening at the Levy Stadium in Santa Clara, despite its absolute control over the course of the match throughout the ninety minutes, and the Qatari national team obtained its first point in its second participation in the World Cup, after exiting without points in the 2022 edition.
Switzerland took the lead through Breel Embolo from a penalty kick in the 17th minute, before Khukhi Boualem snatched Annabi's killer equalizer with a header in the 90+5th minute, to keep the scene in Group B open to all possibilities, after the first match between Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina also ended in a draw (1-1).
The match got off to a fast start, as the Qataris almost opened the scoring through Edmilson Jr. in the second minute, before the Swiss team imposed its rhythm with a continuous attack that resulted in the penalty kick, and then a series of dangerous chances through Zakaria, Ebisher and Vargas, without succeeding in doubling the result.
In the second half, Switzerland continued to dominate, while the Qatari team was content with limited attempts with a clear defensive improvement, before the Qatari strike came in stoppage time through Boualem's header that turned the tide of the match and gave Switzerland a victory that was within reach.
With this draw, the four teams in Group C – Switzerland, Qatar, Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina – are tied with one point each, in a group that looks set for more excitement and dew in the next two rounds.
Through the Haiti Gate. Scotland wins 36-year absence
Scotland are taking a very important step towards achieving their dream of qualifying for the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup for the first time in their history.
The Scottish national team achieved a valuable 1-0 victory over Haiti, on Saturday evening local time (Sunday morning GMT) in the first round of Group C of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup, which is currently being held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Scotland owe a great deal of credit for achieving this victory to their player John McGinn, who scored the only goal of the match in the 28th minute, to give his team their first victory in the World Cup, after a 36-year absence, that is, since the team's last victory in the 1990 World Cup in Italy.
With this result, Scotland topped the group standings with 3 points, two points ahead of their nearest pursuers Morocco and Brazil, who drew 1-1 earlier on Saturday in the same round, while Haiti remained without points, at the bottom of the standings.
It is noteworthy that the 48 teams participating in the World Cup were divided into 12 groups, with 4 teams in each group, with the leader and runner-up qualifying for the knockout rounds, in addition to the top 8 teams that obtained the third place.
Scotland will play their next match in the tournament against Morocco in the second round of the group, which will see another meeting between Brazil and Haiti.
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