Carlo Ancelotti Praises Well-Organised Morocco as Brazil Battle to 1-1 Draw: 'It Was a Tough Match'

Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti pointed to ‘nerves’ and anxiety as the cause for his team's sluggish performance in their 1-1 draw against Morocco to open their World Cup campaign.

At MetLife Stadium, a brilliant strike from Vinícius Júnior was needed to rescue a point for the South American giants.

Morocco had controlled the first half-hour, taking a well-earned lead through Ismael Saibari before Brazil found their footing.

"I think it was a tough match, especially in the first half," Ancelotti stated as quoted by ESPN. "Maybe the team was a bit anxious, and the nerves were all over the place. The second half was better, but it was still tough, and I'm sure we'll get better."

Vinícius, who scored his second career World Cup goal, echoed his manager's assessment of the team's poor opening.

"We started on a really bad note," the forward said via a translator. "For certain, we got to hold on to the ball. We have to move better."

When questioned about how he would address the team's mentality before their next match against Haiti in Philadelphia on Friday, Ancelotti confirmed he would investigate the reasons for the shaky start.

"I think that's something we'll have to look into," he said. "There's a lot of pressure, so it's natural. Little by little, we'll improve in that sense."

After narrowly avoiding their first opening-game loss at a World Cup since 1934, Ancelotti faced a tense post-match press conference where his tactics and team selection came under scrutiny.

However, the Italian coach maintained he was content with the draw and remained "absolutely" confident that Brazil would find their form before the knockout rounds.

"We have to reassess what we did," he explained. "In the first half, we were very unbalanced. We did a bit better in the second half. The result isn't bad. You don't win the World Cup in your first match."

"I'm not disappointed, but I'm not satisfied, either. We need to work, but that's normal. Morocco played well. They're a solid team, very well organised. It was a difficult game," Ancelotti added. "The goal is to qualify, move on to the next round and improve over time."

Brazil was without star forward Neymar, who is currently recovering from a torn right calf.