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Former Sweden marksman Zlatan Ibrahimovic took a dig at Morocco for their controversial AFCON win, ahead of their 1-1 2026 FIFA World Cup draw with Brazil on Saturday (June 13) in East Rutherford.
The Atlas Lions took the lead through Ismael Saibari in the 21st minute, but Vinicius Junior’s fine finish 11 minutes later eventually forced a share of the spoils for the five-time champions.
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Earlier this year, Morocco lost 1-0 to Senegal after extra time in the AFCON final. However, the Confederation of African Football overturned the result and awarded a 3-0 win to Morocco, as Senegal players had left the pitch for a few minutes due to a controversial stoppage-time penalty awarded to Morocco.
Eventually, the players returned to the field, and Brahim Diaz missed his penalty, which forced extra time, where Pape Gueye scored the winner for Senegal. However, two months later, the CAB announced Morocco as the winners, as Senegal had ‘forfeited’ the game by walking off.
Referencing the fact that Morocco were awarded the AFCON title without winning the final, Ibrahimovic predicted Brazil to emerge victorious (as per FOX Soccer via BeFootball):
“MOROCCO WON THE AFCON WITHOUT WINNING THE FINAL, THEY MUST HAVE SOME QUALITIES (😅). But I see Brazil winning.”
Going back to the Morocco-Brazil game, the draw meant that Scotland went top of 2026 FIFA World Cup Group C following their 1-0 win over Haiti.
“We really have to improve” – Vinicius Jr. after Brazil draw with Morocco at 2026 FIFA World Cup
Brazil striker Vinicius Junior admitted the need to improve following the disappointing 1-1 draw with AFCON champions Morocco in their 2026 FIFA World Cup opener on Saturday night.
In the absence of the injured Neymar, A. Selecao largely looked disjointed and bereft of ideas up front against a disciplined Moroccan side, that had reached the semi-finals at Qatar 2022.
“We started on a really bad note,” Vinicius said (as per NDTV). “We conceded that first goal and after that happens it’s hard to get it going, you know, it’s the first match, it’s always hard.
“But we’ve got to improve and continue to grow because the competition is only but starting. This is the World Cup, there are no easy matches. But I don’t think there’s a lot to say now. I think we really have to improve.”
Brazil next take on Haiti on June 19 in Philadelphia, while Morocco take on group leaders Scotland on the same day in Foxborough.
Edited by Bhargav
