Ancelotti surprised in the lineup: Lucas Paquetá gained a place in the middle and Igor Thiago was selected in attack. Matheus Cunha ended up being passed over. Douglas Santos won the dispute with Alex Sandro at left-back. On the right side, Danilo, who trained as a starter, remained on the bench. Defender Ibañez was selected improvised.
In the first minutes of the match, the African team showed initiative and dominated the actions. Playing with high lines, Morocco took the ball easily and occupied the attacking field. Missing many passes, Brazil played poorly, with Paquetá being the portrait of an apathetic and error-prone team. A solid performance by the defensive core, however, avoided the opponent’s big chances.
After 15 minutes of opponent dominance, Brazil showed signs that they would balance the game. In one of Ancelotti’s team’s first attacks, however, Paquetá lost the ball, Brahim Diaz received it in the middle and made an excellent pass to Saibari, who infiltrated the middle of the two defenders and played over Alisson to open the score.
The Brazilian team continued to struggle after coming up behind. In a move similar to the goal, Morocco mounted a new deadly counter attack, this time with Hakimi, who started from the middle, reached the edge of the area and shot with great danger.
After conceding a goal in their best moment of the game, Brazil reacted at their worst: Vinicius Jr. received the ball on the left wing, played the ball with Bruno Guimarães, cut to the middle inside the area and hit firmly, in the corner.
Brazil didn’t improve much after the draw, but the Moroccan team, despite continuing with more possession of the ball, reduced their intensity. In stoppage time of the first stage, Brazil came close to the turnaround: Douglas Santos received the ball on the left and made an excellent lift. Paquetá tried a volley, but caught it with a shin. Despite this, the ball was addressed and forced Bono to make a great save.
Ancelotti made two substitutions at half-time: Fabinho and Danilo came on to replace Ibañez and Casemiro, both yellowed.
The second stage began more studied and balanced, with both teams playing at a slower pace.
At 15, Ancelotti removed two other bets he made for the match: Paquetá, who played a terrible game, and Igor Thiago, who participated little. Matheus Cunha and Luiz Henrique entered.
At 33, Brazil had a great chance after a ball from Cunha to Vini. The Real player crossed low and Raphinha caught it firmly at first, but stopped at Bono. Two minutes later, Ancelotti made the last change: highlight of the last matches of the cycle, Danilo Santos replaced Bruno Guimarães.
Despite playing much better than in the first stage, the Seleção continued without being able to dominate the midfield. Connected, the Moroccan team remained consistent, despite being less intense. In the last minute, Alisson did well to palm a shot from outside the area and stifle the rebound, guaranteeing a draw that came cheaply for the five-time champion team.
