Alan Shearer and others criticize Brazil’s performance after 1-1 draw with Morocco

Casemiro and Carlo Ancelotti blasted by former Brazil star after Morocco draw

Casemiro had a tough day out against Morocco (Picture: Getty Images) Carlo Ancelotti, Casemiro and Lucas Paqueta were among those under fire after Brazil’s 1-1 draw with Morocco in their World Cup opener. There is always great expectation on the Brazilian side at a major tournament and this year’s World Cup is no different. It may not be a classic Brazil team, but they have brought in one of the world’s greatest managers to try and win their sixth World Cup, but their first since 2002. Their campaign got off to an underwhelming start, though, as they were held to a draw by Morocco in New Jersey. It's finally here Get everything you need to know about the World Cup – England updates, the games to watch and stories you missed – in five minutes, at 1pm, every day. Sign up here. Ismael Saibari put the underdogs ahead after 21 minutes, with Vinicius Junior equalising just 11 minutes later, which proved to be the final goal of the game. Morocco are highly-rated and reached the semi-finals in Qatar in 2022, so Brazil were not taking on minnows, but the African side largely dominated the first half. Ancelotti’s side improved after the break, but former Brazil midfielder Neto was not impressed at all and took aim at the manager and a string of his players. Carlo Ancelotti’s team did not fire in their World Cup opener (Picture: Getty Images) The 59-year-old, who won 16 caps from 1988-93, said, via ESPN: ‘This Ancelotti is a joke. He picks the team badly. ‘How long have I been saying that Casemiro isn’t fit to play football? [Lucas] Paqueta? Paqueta’s little dance? He’s useless. ‘[Roger] Ibañez? Igor Thiago? No. Let’s change things up, put in Danilo Santos, Luiz Henrique, Rayan. Put in Endrick.’ 19-year-old Endrick remained an unused substitute, to the surprise of many Brazil fans. ‘What did Endrick do to these people?’ Neto asked. ‘I can’t understand why he’s not playing and isn’t coming on. It’s amazing how Ancelotti didn’t have any vision regarding substitutions.’ Vinicius Jr earned a point for Brazil (Picture: Getty Images) Former Liverpool and Brazil midfielder Lucas Leiva took aim at Casemiro’s performance as well, saying he is the player to dictate play from central midfield, but was unable to do so. ‘I think Casemiro is the player, but I think today he looked always late in the challenge, he never looked controlled,’ Leiva told CBS. ‘Sometimes he was ahead of Bruno [Guimaraes] in the build-up, which should be different, it should be Casemiro a little bit deeper and Bruno higher up. ‘They couldn’t find themselves in these spaces and this is why they never looked like controlling the midfield. ‘Fabinho gave them a little bit more stability when he came on. But overall the team didn’t play well and the midfield especially didn’t control, which I think is the key for the team.’ MOROCCO LEAD BRAZIL! 😮🇲🇦Brahim Diaz threads a superb through ball to Ismael Saibari to give Morocco the lead in New Jersey!#FifaWorldCup pic.twitter.com/DH31szXvKz— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) June 13, 2026 The criticism did not end there, with another Brazil midfielder Felipe Melo hitting out at Ancelotti for picking Roger Ibanez at right-back in place of the injured Wesley. ‘Ancelotti is one of the greatest in history, but you can’t let this slide; he started with the wrong starting eleven,’ the former Juventus player told SporTV. ‘Ibañez shouldn’t have started the game at all. He comes off and improves the team. He’s a very good player, but poor guy, he’s not a full-back. First World Cup game and he puts in a guy who’s a centre-back and doesn’t even have the knack for playing as a full-back? There’s Danilo . I didn’t like how Brazil behaved. He needs to be criticised. ‘Individually, Vinicius Jr. made all the difference for Brazil; he was the best player on the field. But Morocco’s team performance was much better. Even the defensive organization that I talked so much about, the organised team, that organization wasn’t seen today.’ Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

2 hours ago

Alan Shearer criticises ‘shaky’ Gabriel Magalhaes after Brazil draw with Morocco in World Cup opener

Gabriel Magalhaes looked slow and shaky in Brazil’s World Cup opener, according to Alan Shearer (Getty) Alan Shearer believes Gabriel Magalhaes looked ‘shaky’ and ‘slow’ in Brazil’s World Cup opener which ended in a 1-1 draw with Morocco. The Arsenal centre-back, who is appearing at a World Cup for the first time in his career, was caught out of position for Morocco’s opening goal as a brilliant pass from Brahim Diaz put Ismael Saibari through and he clipped the ball over Alisson. Brazil equalised before half time through an excellent finish from Vinicius Jr, but Carlo Ancelotti’s side struggled to pose problems for Morocco. ‘He’s looked shaky, Gabriel, today,’ Shearer said during the BBC’s coverage of the game. It's finally here Get everything you need to know about the World Cup – England updates, the games to watch and stories you missed – in five minutes, at 1pm, every day. Sign up here. ‘On two or three occasions the ball has gone out and I thought he could’ve attacked it and he didn’t. He’s been slow. Gabriel Magalhaes was caught out for Morocco’s opening goal (AP Photo) ‘Certainly with the goal in the first half, the gap between him and Marquinhos was huge.’ Speaking after Brazil’s draw, Ancelotti conceded that opening game nerves had got the better of his players. ‘I think we didn’t start the game well, the team was a bit worried, we lost a lot of balls, a lot of duels,’ Ancelotti said. ‘The first half wasn’t good. It improved in the second half, it’s a difficult game because Morocco is a good team. ‘A little anxiety, I think so. In the first stage, they [Morocco] would escape the pressure and make dangerous transitions. We could have had more control.’ Casemiro was subbed at half time in Brazil’s draw with Morocco (Allstar via Getty) Meanwhile, former Liverpool and Brazil midfielder Lucas Leiva believes Ancelotti’s side lacked balance in the middle of the pitch. ‘One point is better than nothing but I think Ancelotti will have a lot of work to do for the next game against Haiti,’ Lucas told CBS Sports. ‘It should be an easier game for Brazil but I was a little bit worried, especially the first half, with what we saw in the game. ‘Before the game we spoke about balance, Brazil never looked in control in the middle, Casemiro struggled a little bit and that’s why he got taken out at half time. ‘Offensively, Brazil never looked dangerous, they didn’t create as much as we could’ve imagined. ‘We were talking about the position of Raphinha, Brazil never had a right winger, which made it difficult. Second half was a little bit better, Danilo coming on at right-back gave them more stability at the back. But overall it wasn’t a good performance, the balance of the team wasn’t right, the middle never got control of the game and we know how important the midfield is for the team.’ Brazil play Haiti in their next World Cup match on June 20. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

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