New York: Brazil and Morocco played out unsatisfactory draw in front of a capacity crowd in New York New Jersey, with both Ismael Saibari and Vinicius Jr netting decent goals for in a highly anticipated Group C clash.

Morocco, who made history at Qatar 2022 as the first African country to make the World Cup semi-finals, struck first. Brahim Diaz sliced open the Brazilian backline with a perfectly executed pass, allowing Saibari to chase it down and loft the ball over an advancing Alisson.

However, the five-time world champions responded quickly. Picking up a pass from Bruno Guimaraes on the far left edge of the box, Vinicius Jr created space by cutting inside and firing a powerful, unstoppable strike past Yassine Bounou.

Both goalkeepers pulled off crucial saves to keep the match level.

Just before the break, Bounou dived to his left to deny a spectacular acrobatic attempt from Lucas Paqueta, and the experienced keeper later positioned himself perfectly to stop a Raphinha effort set up by Vinicius.

At the other end deep into stoppage time, Alisson proved just as vital, diving to parry a distant shot from Neil El Aynaoui before quickly smothering Ayoube Amaimouni’s attempt on the rebound.