Former Chelsea star turned TV pundit Craig Burley has delivered his verdict on Brazil following their 1-1 draw against Morocco in the FIFA World Cup. The five-time world champions were not at their best in their opening game of the tournament.
Mohamed Ouahbi's side started the game really strongly and opened the scoring in the 21st minute. PSV Eindhoven star Ismael Saibari chipped Alisson Becker to give the African champions the lead.
Vinicius Junior equalised in the 32nd minute in a moment of pure individual brilliance. However, they were outplayed by Morocco for the vast majority of the game.
Pundit Craig Burley has slammed Brazil following their poor opening performance in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He has insisted that the Selecao are not a team that can frighten their opponents. The former Chelsea midfielder said, as quoted by ESPN FC on X:
“[Brazil] don’t scare anybody. ... They have moments, but they don't frighten you.”
Brazil are alongside Morocco, Scotland and Haiti in Group C and are expected to qualify for the knockout stages convincingly. A win against Morocco would have boosted their chances of topping the group.
Brazil legend Kaka backs Neymar to play a key role in the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Former FIFA World Cup-winning Brazilian midfielder Kaka has backed Neymar to play an integral role for Brazil in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Carlo Ancelotti's decision to call up Neymar caused a bit of shock considering his last appearance for the Selecao was back in 2023.
Kaka, a member of the 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning Brazil side, has claimed that Neymar could be integral in the tournament. The former AC Milan and Real Madrid midfielder has insisted that Neymar's experience and leadership could be important for the Selecao. Kaka said:
"I love Neymar. We played together in the national team, we are friends. If he's ready, if he's in a good shape, physical condition is good, I think he'll be very, very important for Brazil. He's always supporting the team, he tries to help the young guys and he's a very good teammate, so he understood his position now, it's really different from before and now he's much more mature. Sometimes, you just want to see those guys having fun on the field."
Kaka and Neymar share a close bond and shared the pitch with each other on eight occasions and had two joint goal participations. Neymar is the second-most capped player in Brazil's history with 128 caps. He is also the highest-scoring Brazilian footballer of all time with 79 international goals to his name.