Brazil and Morocco fans fill New York before World Cup clash

Shafaq News- New Jersey

Hundreds of Brazil and Morocco fans gathered in New York and near New York/New Jersey Stadium on Saturday before the two teams kicked off one of the biggest early matches of World Cup 2026.

Shafaq News captured crowds from both sides waving flags, chanting, and filling the streets with the colors of Brazil and Morocco before the Group C opener. Brazil supporters brought the familiar yellow and green of the five-time world champions, while Moroccans raised red flags and shirts in support of the Atlas Lions, who arrived at the tournament with the confidence of their historic 2022 semifinal run.

The game started at 1:00 a.m. Baghdad time (GMT+3) on Sunday at New York/New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, a venue with a listed World Cup capacity of 82,500. The fixture is Match 7 of the event and one of the strongest games of the opening round, bringing together the most successful team in World Cup history and the first African side to reach a semifinal.

Brazil begin another attempt to win a sixth World Cup title and a first since 2002. Carlo Ancelotti’s side enter the competition with Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Casemiro, and a squad carrying familiar pressure from a football nation that measures success by trophies.

Morocco arrive with a different profile from past editions. The Atlas Lions stunned Spain and Portugal on their way to the 2022 semifinals, and their supporters in New York and New Jersey treated the Brazil match as another chance to show that run was not a one-tournament moment.

Before the ball was kicked, the atmosphere had already turned the New York-New Jersey area into one of the loudest early stops of the tournament.

For Brazil fans, it was the kick-off of another title dream.

For Morocco followers, it was another night to carry the noise of the Atlas Lions onto the world stage.