Brazil vs Morocco Prediction: Igor’s irresistible in the goalscorer market

Five-time FIFA World Cup champions Brazil get their 2026 campaign started with a clash against 2022 semi-finalists Morocco. The pair meet at the MetLife Stadium on Saturday (6pm local/11pm BST, BBC One) to kick-start Group C.

My Brazil vs Morocco predictions can be found below, accompanied by the latest team news and match odds.

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Team News

Midfielder Wesley was forced to withdraw from the Brazil squad through injury. Boss Carlo Ancelotti has replaced him with Ederson, who has agreed a transfer to join Manchester United from Atalanta.

Neymar Jr. looks set to miss the first match as he continues to nurse a muscle problem.

Raphinha and Vinicius Jr., the two El Clasico rivals for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, should operate on the flanks as a result. In between them is expected to be Igor Thiago, who may get the nod ahead of Endrick and Matheus Cunha.

World Cup Odds

Nayef Aguerd and Abde Ezzalzouli are two injury withdrawals for Morocco, with the latter set to be a big miss for the Atlas Lions. Amine Sbai and Marwane Saadane have been drafted in as replacements.

Brazil vs Morocco Odds

Brazil have never lost their opening game at the World Cup finals and they are 8/13 to defeat Morocco.

The draw is available at 11/4 and Morocco's most recent friendly ended 1-1 against Norway.

The Atlas Lions are a 9/2 bet to prevail in this fixture.

Thiago has scored in two of Brazil's past three matches and he's 6/4 to score with Sub Switch or 13/8 without.

Sub Switch - Pre-match Bet Builder and Single bets on qualifying Player selections.

Match Result & Both Teams To Score - Brazil & Yes @ 11/4

Brazil are heading into this tournament in good form. Ancelotti's side have won three games on the bounce, scoring 11 goals in the process. Morocco went on a memorable run to the semi-finals in Qatar in 2022, so there may be some unusual expectations weighing on the Atlas Lions this time.

The Selecao are five-time champions of the World Cup but their last title was in 2002. The nation yearns for a sixth and some people think Brazil have a shot of claiming it this summer.

I'm not so sure but I think they can still have a good run. I believe they will get off to a winning start. The trends back this because Brazil have won 10 of their past 11 opening matches at the World Cup.

The attacking resources at their disposal are far greater than what Morocco have to offer, so I see this one being won by a couple of goals. However, I reckon we'll see Morocco get on the scoresheet because there have been goals at both ends in each of Brazil's five most recent outings.

Anytime Goalscorer - Igor Thiago @ 13/8

While the Sub Swap insurance was tempting, I'm standing firm in backing Thiago to find the net on Saturday. He's in good form for his country with two goals in three appearances, and he finished last season as the second-top scorer in the Premier League behind Erling Haaland.

The centre-forward has had an impressive year so far, and I'm backing his success to continue against Morocco.