World Cup

Brazil vs Morocco 2026 World Cup prediction

2020 FIFA World Cup semi-finalists Morocco take on the record World Cup winners Brazil in arguably the most exciting tie of the first round of matches. This match has been saved for Friday night too to make it even more watchable.

4.5 years ago Morocco were the biggest surprise package in Qatar, first winning their group which included beating Belgium and drawing with Croatia. They increased their performance in the knockout stages – beating Spain 3-0 on penalties after a 0-0 draw over 120 minutes, beating Portugal 1-0 before losing to runners-up France in the semi-finals.

Paris Saint-Germain right-back Achraf Hakimi, Real Betis’ Sofyan Amrabat, former Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, PSV Eindhoven forward Abdelhamid Sabiri are some of the stars from Qatar that are expected to start the 2026 edition of the World Cup too. Real Madrid’s Brahim Díaz, Manchester United’s Noussair Mazraoui, Crystal Palace’s Chadi Riad, Sunderland’s Chemsdine Talbi, and AS Roma’s Neil El Aynaoui are other stars in this year’s squad.

I’ve not given Brazil a chance of winning any of the World Cup’s since I started this site back in 2007. I have been right on every occasion. They’ve not even reached a final during that time. That prediction rolls over to 2026 too, despite the bookmakers having them as sixth favourites.

The only wildcard Seleção is they have a great manager in Carlo Ancelotti. But I don’t think that will be enough to drag them over the line. They are coming off the back of their worst-ever finish in qualifying – 5th out of 10. The top 6 qualified for USA-Mexico-Canada and Brazil were eight points clear of seventh place Bolivia, who lost an inter-confederation playoff.

Losing 0-1 at home and 1-4 away to Argentina were some of the notable results for Brazil in qualifying. They won eight, drew four and lost six. Although their 0-1 loss in Bolivia came after they had already secured their place in North America this summer.

The squad seems hit-and-miss. A top goalkeeper in Alisson and centre-backs Marquinhos and Gabriel. A solid holding midfielder in Casemiro, who’s looked very fit once again for Manchester United this season. Then you have Vinicius down the left wing whom is their star attacker. Much of the media focus heading into the World Cup for Brazil has been about Neymar’s fitness. The 34-year-old is back playing with Santos these days, and missed most of qualifying through injury, although was available for the final handful of games but not selected. The former FC Barcelona and PSG man is likely to be a substitute or support striker when he features in this tournament.

Who starts up front for Brazil? How strong are they at full-back and centre midfield? This opening match will answer some of those questions and is certainly an interesting matchup. It really wouldn’t surprise me if Morocco win this but Brazil are heading into it as odds-on favourites.

Best bet: Both Teams to Score 1/1 with Bet365
Value bet: Lay Brazil at 1.70 with Betfair