Brazil cannot afford a slow start in Group C, not with Dorival Junior under pressure to reassert the Seleção’s aura after the disjointed run through 2023. Morocco remember how vulnerable Brazil looked in Tangier three years ago, and Walid Regragui has spent every camp since telling his players that result was no fluke.
Expect Dorival to stick with the 4-3-3 he has leaned on through the spring friendlies. Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo remain the constant outlets, stretching play wide so that Bruno Guimarães can advance earlier from the right half-space. The key adjustment is further back: Marquinhos and Gabriel Magalhães are expected to start together, restoring the left-foot-right-foot balance Brazil lacked at recent tournaments. That pairing frees Wolverhampton midfielder João Gomes to anchor the centre and buy Lucas Paquetá the extra creative latitude Brazil have missed whenever Neymar has been sidelined.
Regragui will not abandon his 4-3-3 either. In the defensive phase it becomes a flexible 4-1-4-1, with Sofyan Amrabat shielding the centre-backs and Azzedine Ounahi pressing on cue. The idea is familiar: funnel opponents into one corridor, then spring Brahim Díaz or Ilias Akhomach into the space Achraf Hakimi generates down the right. When it works, Morocco run like a club side. When it falters, they concede transitions. Against Brazil, whose wingers love early diagonals, the timing of Hakimi’s surges is everything.
The midfield wrestle will decide whether Bilal El Khannouss’s minutes become luxury or necessity. Brazil want Guimarães and Paquetá receiving the ball facing forward. Morocco want Amrabat to land the first tackle, Ounahi to take the second touch, and Díaz to find Youssef En-Nesyri before the centre-backs can reset. If Rodrygo cheats inside and leaves space for Danilo, the Atlas Lions’ press must slide faster than it did in that 2022 semi-final against France.
Both camps are monitoring fitness. Brazil remain optimistic Alisson will be available after missing Liverpool’s last league match with a minor calf issue. Morocco are easing Nayef Aguerd back after his February hamstring setback. Neither federation is rushing confirmations 101 days out, but the medical staffs on both sides already have MetLife Stadium’s pitch reports in hand.
Group context matters. Scotland’s high press awaits later in June, and Haiti are not travelling just to make up numbers. For more on how Steve Clarke plans to target Brazil, read Can Clarke’s Tartan blueprint blunt Dorival’s five-star Brazil in Group C finale?. Everyone in Group C can see how the bracket opens up for the winner, and nobody wants to chase from behind.
Key details:
- Kick-off: 13 June 2026, 22:00 UTC, MetLife Stadium
- Brazil coach: Dorival Junior
- Brazil expected formation: 4-3-3
- Morocco coach: Walid Regragui
- Morocco expected formation: 4-3-3
- Last meeting: Morocco 2-1 Brazil, friendly, Tangier, March 2023
- World Cup memory: Brazil 3-0 Morocco, Group A, France 1998
Both squads are young enough to run, experienced enough to suffer without panic. The winner sets the tone for an open Group C and moves closer to the softer side of the knockout bracket. The loser must regroup fast before Morocco face Scotland and Brazil run into Dorival’s great unknown: what happens when the plan sketched this spring collides with tournament reality.
