PREVIEW: Brazil begin World Cup campaign against Morocco without Neymar | OneFootball

Five-time World Cup winners Brazil begin their campaign against African Cup of Nations holders Morocco at MetLife Stadium.

Carlo Ancelotti is the first foreign manager to coach Brazil and will look to guide them to a winning start in Group C, which many have tipped them as favourites to top above tonight’s opponents, Scotland, and Haiti.

Morocco go into the match against Brazil unbeaten in their last six matches in all competitions, winning four and drawing two and claiming a 2-1 victory in Tangier when the sides last met in a friendly match in June 2023.

Seleção, as their known to their loyal supporter base, enter the tournament with the proud record of being the only nation to have appeared in every FIFA World Cup since the competition began in 1930.

Ancelotti’s side have won their last three matches against Croatia, Panama, and Egypt, while also winning seven of their last eight World Cup matches against African opposition.

They will be looking to progress further than they did in Qatar four years ago, having been eliminated at the quarter-final stage after an agonizing 4-2 penalty shootout defeat to Croatia.

Brazil and Morocco last met in the group stage at France 1998, where Brazil ran out as 3-0 winners in Nantes, with icons Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Bebeto all getting on the scoresheet.

But they will be without arguably their best player of the 2010s as Neymar has been ruled out having not quite recovered from a calf issue that also kept him out of the final warm-up against Egypt, while Wesley is also out with a muscle injury.

Manchester United’s new £35m signing Ederson was a late call-up to Ancelotti’s World Cup squad and could make only his fourth cap at 26 years old, hoping to impress new manager Michael Carrick since singing from Atalanta.

Morocco made history four years ago in Qatar by becoming the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals, dumping out Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal 1-0 in their tight quarter-final contest.

Now at Al-Ittiyad, towering striker Youssef En-Neseyri headed in the winner but was not selected for his country’s 26-man squad this time around and PSV Eindhoven’s Ismael Saibari is set to lead the line for Morocco.

This will be their seventh World Cup appearance, and have recorded 33 wins in 45 matches since the start of 2023 to occupy seventh place in FIFA’s official world rankings.

Nayef Aguerd will be out with a groin injury, along with Abde Ezzalzouli who is out with a knee injury, while United full-back Noussair Mazraoui will be subject to a late decision on his availability due to a shoulder problem.

The match will kick off at 23:00 (BST), with live coverage available on BBC One, iPlayer, and the BBC Sport website.