EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey — Speaking on the eve of Brazil’s opening World Cup fixture against Morocco, Vinícius Júnior told a packed news conference that he’s not interested in being the best player at this tournament and that his only aim is to win the whole thing.
After a 1-1 draw with Morocco at MetLife Stadium on Saturday, he might want to reconsider. On this evidence, he is closer to earning individual awards than Brazil are to winning a sixth World Cup.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti’s side were lucky to leave with a point, and it was only down to a moment of magic from the Real Madrid forward that they were able to do so.
Brazil haven’t lost their first game at a World Cup since 1934.
This was a close call, and Morocco, powered by outstanding 18-year-old midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, will feel hard done by that they couldn’t kick off their campaign with a win.
It was telling that when the final whistle blew, there were no real celebrations from the men in red. “We hoped to have more,” head coach Mohamed Ouahbi said.
But a missed opportunity for Morocco offers Ancelotti the chance to go back to the drawing board with morale just about intact.
In this expanded competition, a draw in your toughest group game isn’t a disaster and there is still time to find the pieces to put together a cohesive unit capable of competing with the best teams.
At least Vinícius gave Ancelotti something positive to talk about in a post-match news conference dominated by questions about his tactics and team selection.
“He did well,” Ancelotti said. “He was very dangerous. I think he has everything in his power to have a great World Cup.”
What the team’s prospects look like for the next month is a different question entirely. Until the intervention from Vinicius midway through the first half, Brazil were all over the place.
Ancelotti put the poor start down to “nerves” and “anxiety” although it was hard not to think that the Italian got his tactical set up all wrong.
With Lucas Paquetá wide on the right, Bruno Guimarães and 34-year-old Casemiro were asked to cover vast spaces of the dry MetLife pitch in the New Jersey heat. Energetic and aggressive, Morocco made the most of the space.
There had already been plenty of warning signs before Noussair Mazraoui found Brahim Díaz in the centre circle.
While Brazil’s midfield scrambled to get close, Brahim had the time to play a straight, but perfectly-weighted pass to split Brazil’s centre-half pairing of Marquinhos and Gabriel Magalhães.
It allowed Ismael Saibari to scamper through and clip a clever finish over the stranded Allison. Saibari’s shot was one of 12 attempts by Morocco inside the first 30 minutes and was thoroughly well deserved.
By that point Ancelotti had seen enough, and Paqueta was moved inside to make up a midfield three.
It meant Vinícius was shifted out onto the left and it was from there that he produced a moment of individual brilliance to find an equaliser.
He looked to be running out of room when he collected Guimarães’ pass close to the touchline on the left side of the penalty area. But with his quick feet and a rapid shift of his weight, he darted inside and whipped a right-foot shot into the far corner.
It prompted wild celebrations among the mass of yellow shirts in the stands — tinged with a bit of relief.
“It was a tough match,” Ancelotti admitted. “We have to reassess what we did. We didn’t play well. In the first half we were very unbalanced. We did a bit better in the second half but we cannot lose heart and we cannot base ourselves on one game.
“The result isn’t bad. You don’t win the World Cup in your first match. I’m not disappointed but I’m not satisfied, either.”
And so Brazil escaped, leaving Ancelotti with plenty of thinking to do before facing Haiti in Philadelphia on Friday.
Setting up in a 4-2-4 system allows him the freedom to cram more of his creative players into the same XI.
Playing an extra midfielder offers more balance and control, something that was evident during a slow-paced second half against Morocco.
Perhaps it won’t matter as much against Haiti, ranked 83rd in the world. But it will be important in the knockouts with Brazil looking to get past the quarterfinals for just the second time since winning their fifth title in 2002.
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Fans on Copacabana Beach celebrate Brazil’s equalizer vs. Morocco
It was the same year they last won a knockout tie against European opposition. This was certainly not a performance to worry France, Spain or England.
Ancelotti insists Brazil will grow into the tournament and they will have to.
He hinted at changes to come, and time is on his side.
The knockout rounds won’t begin for another two weeks, and even after an opening draw, it’s hard to think the five-time winners won’t be there — particularly with players like Vinícius.
“For many different reasons a debut in the World Cup might not end up as expected,” Ancelotti said.
“The goal is to qualify, move on to the next round and improve over time. We’re absolutely confident. Not everything goes perfectly in football.”
Until he can work out exactly what’s wrong with Brazil and how to fix it, he will need Vinícius to keep bailing them out.
