Brazil vs Morocco Prediction and Pick: Who Will Win Today?

Brazil vs Morocco is the pick of today’s fixtures, and it is the kind of opener that could have been a knockout tie. On one side you have the five time world champions. On the other you have the team that lit up the last World Cup and became the first African nation ever to reach a semifinal. So who actually wins this one?

I have gone through the form, the team news, the head to head and the tactical picture to give you a straight answer. The score prediction and my final pick are lower down, but the short version is that Brazil are favorites, only this is far closer than the gap in reputation suggests.

There is a reason for that. The last time these two met, Morocco won. More on that in a moment.

Brazil vs Morocco match details

This is a FIFA World Cup 2026 Group C opener for both teams, and it is being played just outside New York City. Here is everything you need before kickoff.

• Competition: FIFA World Cup 2026, Group C, Matchday 1
• Date: Saturday, June 13, 2026
• Kickoff: 6:00 PM ET, 5:00 PM CT, 3:00 PM PT, 11:00 PM BST, 11:00 PM in Morocco, 7:00 PM in Brazil
• Venue: New York/New Jersey Stadium (MetLife Stadium), East Rutherford, New Jersey, capacity 82,500
• Group: C, alongside Haiti and Scotland

If you want to watch live, viewers in the United States can tune in to FOX and FS1 in English with Spanish coverage on Telemundo. In the United Kingdom the match is on the BBC, fans in Australia can watch on SBS, and viewers in India can stream it on Zee5.

Brazil team form and key players

Brazil arrive chasing their first World Cup title since 2002. A sixth star would put them clear of everyone else in history, and that is the standard this team is measured against.

The big change is in the dugout. Carlo Ancelotti is now in charge, the first foreign coach to lead Brazil since 1925, with a simple brief: get the Selecao back to the top. The road here was bumpy.

Brazil only finished fifth in South American qualifying and stumbled at home more than once. But the warm up results told a happier story. After a draw with Tunisia and a defeat to France, Brazil rattled off three straight wins, including a 6-2 thrashing of Panama, and looked far more like themselves.

The team news is mixed. Neymar, Brazil’s all time leading scorer, misses out with a calf injury, and right back Wesley has been ruled out of the tournament. The good news is that the attacking riches remain.

Vinicius Junior and Raphinha give Ancelotti a frightening wide threat, with Lucas Paqueta linking play and the experienced pair of Casemiro and Bruno Guimaraes anchoring midfield. Even without Neymar, this is a forward line most teams would fear.

Morocco team form and key players

Morocco are no longer a surprise package. They reached the semifinals at the 2022 World Cup, the first African nation ever to get that far, and they qualified for 2026 in style by winning all eight of their African qualifying games.

The complication is timing. Walid Regragui, the coach who masterminded that 2022 run, stepped down in March 2026, less than 100 days before the tournament. His replacement is Mohamed Ouahbi, a coach who guided Morocco’s youth side to the 2025 Under 20 World Cup title but who is stepping into senior international football at a World Cup.

He has settled the side with three wins and two draws in five matches, most recently a 1-1 draw with Norway, and he favors a more attacking approach than his predecessor.

The squad still carries serious quality. Achraf Hakimi captains the team after winning the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain, Yassine Bounou is a dependable goalkeeper, and Brahim Diaz pulls the strings in attack. The concern is at the back.

First choice center back Nayef Aguerd is missing through injury, left back Noussair Mazraoui is a doubt with a shoulder problem, and winger Abde Ezzalzouli has been ruled out of the group stage, leaving the defense looking makeshift against one of the best attacks on the planet.

Brazil vs Morocco head-to-head

The history here is short but interesting. Brazil and Morocco have met three times, and Brazil have won two of those, including their only World Cup meeting, a 3-0 win in the 1998 group stage.

The most recent meeting is the one Morocco fans will bring up, though. In a friendly in 2023, Morocco beat Brazil 2-1 for the first ever win between the nations. It was only a friendly, and the squads have moved on, but it proved Morocco can live with Brazil on their day. That result is exactly why this opener is being treated as a real contest rather than a routine win.

How both teams could line up

Expect Brazil to attack from the start, leaning on their wingers and trusting Casemiro and Bruno Guimaraes to control the middle. Morocco are likely to sit a little deeper, stay compact and look to hit Brazil through Hakimi and Diaz in transition.

Brazil likely XI (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Danilo, Marquinhos (c), Gabriel Magalhaes, Alex Sandro; Casemiro, Bruno Guimaraes; Raphinha, Paqueta, Vinicius Junior; Cunha

Morocco likely XI (4-2-3-1): Bounou; Hakimi (c), Issa Diop, Chadi Riad, Mazraoui; Amrabat, El Aynaoui; Brahim Diaz, Ounahi, El Khannouss; Saibari

Both lineups above are predicted. Brazil’s striker is the main question with Neymar out and Joao Pedro left at home, so Matheus Cunha or Igor Thiago is likely to lead the line. Morocco have several fitness doubts in defense, so the official starting elevens, confirmed roughly an hour before kickoff, are worth checking.

The standout duel to watch is Hakimi against Vinicius Junior down Brazil’s left. Hakimi is one of the best attacking full backs in the world, and how that battle goes could decide the game.

What is at stake in Group C

This match effectively decides who tops Group C, since both Brazil and Morocco are expected to beat Haiti and Scotland. Topping the group rather than finishing second can mean an easier route in the knockout rounds, so the winner here gives themselves a real head start.

For Brazil, a strong opening statement under Ancelotti would calm the nerves after a shaky qualifying campaign. For Morocco, beating a giant in their first game under a new coach would announce that their 2022 run was no fluke.

Brazil vs Morocco prediction and final pick

Now to the part you came for. This one is genuinely tricky, but it still leans one way.

Brazil are the favorites, and the gap in the FIFA rankings is small but real, with Brazil sixth and Morocco seventh. The bigger factors for me are the attacking talent and the timing.

Brazil have a forward line good enough to break down almost any defense, and Morocco are walking into a World Cup opener with a new coach and a patched up back line against exactly the kind of attack you do not want to face while still finding your feet.

That said, I do not expect this to be comfortable. Morocco are disciplined, they have big game experience from 2022, and they have already shown they can beat Brazil. If they stay compact and Hakimi and Diaz get joy on the counter, an upset is very much on the table.

When I weigh it all up, I expect Brazil’s quality to tell in the end, but for Morocco to make them work for it.

Prediction: Brazil to win, 2-1. | Final pick: Brazil.

Morocco have the pedigree and the recent history to spring a surprise, so do not be shocked if they take something from this. But Brazil’s attack should be the difference today.

FAQ About Brazil vs Morocco Prediction