Brazil coach admits poor performance; Morocco coach says he's 'happy' after draw

Perennial title favorite Brazil and dark-horse Morocco offered starkly contrasting reactions after playing to a draw in their 2026 FIFA World Cup opener on Saturday local time.

Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti acknowledged at a post-match press conference that his side had fallen short. "We did not play well," he said after the Group C opener ended 1-1 at New York New Jersey Stadium.

"It was a difficult match, especially in the early stages," he added. "In my view, the team was a bit anxious — there was tension."

Brazil conceded first when Ismail Saibari put Morocco ahead in the 21st minute, but Vinicius Junior equalized in the 32nd minute before halftime.

Despite the result, Ancelotti urged his players to stay composed. "We must not lose confidence," he said, adding that picking up one point was "not bad." "This is the first game of the World Cup. You don't win the World Cup based on the first game alone."

Morocco coach Mohamed Wahhabi, whose side made history at the 2022 Qatar World Cup by becoming the first African nation to reach the semifinals, struck a far more upbeat tone. "I'm happy. I'm not sad," he said. "We obviously wanted to win, but I'm not sad" about the draw.

Wahhabi also addressed the crowd, which was dominated by Brazil supporters in yellow shirts, with relatively few Morocco fans in red visible in the stands. "I don't know if 20 percent of the crowd were Moroccan, but we could hear them very loudly," he said. "I hope they greatly enjoyed tonight's match, and I hope that continues."

He added that Morocco's football would only keep improving. "We are confident about the future of Moroccan football," he said.