Manchester United’s Matheus Cunha made his World Cup debut on Saturday night.
Brazil match
Cunha has played 25 times for the Brazilian national team, making his debut in 2021.
He has only scored once, against Argentina in World Cup qualification.
Cunha started on the bench alongside new United signing Ederson for their match against Morocco but did enter the fray just after the hour mark.
Fellow United teammate, Noussair Mazraoui put in a spectacular showing and was widely praised by the Moroccan media.
Whilst Cunha had a much quieter match, he was still singled out as one of Brazil’s better performers by the local media.
Praise from nation
Brazilian outlet Globo commented on their national team’s 1-1 draw with Morocco to open their 2026 World Cup and praised the contribution of United’s number 10.
They explained, “With the exception of Matheus Cunha’s efforts to regroup and connect the midfield to the attack, Brazil was practically ineffective from the attacking midfield.”
Globo also stated that, “even with the number 9 on his back, he didn’t play as a centre forward, but rather on the left side of the attack.”
The media outlet singled out one action in particular when they described, “at 32 minutes, he made a great pass to Vinicius Junior, which resulted in a dangerous play. He was also important without the ball, frequently dropping back to defend.”
ESPN Brazil were also quick to praise the efforts of Cunha.
The sports network added, “of those who came off the bench, he was the one who performed best. He moved out of the box, helped in marking, and showed enough to deserve more playing time.”
Cunha and Brazil will take on Haiti next on Saturday morning at 01:30 BST.
Matheus Cunha stats vs Morocco
Statistic Value
Goals 0
Assists 0
Expected assists (xA) 0.01
Total shots 0
Shots on target 0
Shots blocked 0
Distance covered 3.8 km
Top speed 27.6 km/h
Number of sprints 2
Running 0.67 km (17.7%)
High-speed running 0.13 km (3.4%)
Sprinting 0.02 km (0.5%)
Touches 19
Dribbles (successful) 2 (0)
Was fouled 1
Possession lost 8
Total carrying distance 68.5 m
Carries 5
Progressive carries 1
Total progression 27.2 m
Progressive carrying distance 24.9 m
Longest progressive carry 16.5 m
Key passes 0
Crosses (accurate) 2 (0)
Accurate passes 5/9 (56%)
Passes in opposition half (acc.) 2/4 (50%)
Passes in own half (acc.) 3/5 (60%)
Long balls (accurate) 1/1 (100%)
Def. contributions 3
Tackles (won) 2 (2)
Interceptions 0
Clearances 1
Blocked shots 0
Ground duels (won) 6 (3)
Dribbled past 1
Featured image by Molly Darlington/Getty Images
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