World Cup Diary (3): The long night and the first top-of-the-table clash

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On the third day of the tournament, the World Cup marathon gets underway: over the next two weeks or so, four matches will be played every evening and night. Brazil are the first team from the wider group of favourites to enter the tournament, but they could be in for a nasty surprise against World Cup semi-finalists Morocco. Meanwhile, hosts the USA have made a clear statement.

For the die-hard fans who want to watch as many matches as possible despite the challenging kick-off times – the author may well be talking about himself – the first two days were a challenge. Kick-off at 9 pm? No problem. But two hours later, after the final whistle of the ‘early’ matches, eyes turned anxiously to the clock: to watch the second match of the day, you now had to wait four or five hours.

That’s all changed now. There’s usually only an hour between the final whistle of one match and the kick-off of the next. So when the match between Brazil and Morocco ends at around 2 am tonight, there won’t be much time to ponder whether this sleep pattern is really a good idea, because the action continues at 3 am with Haiti v Scotland.

Brazil v Morocco is also likely to be the first match of this World Cup that makes football fans with a socially acceptable sleep pattern wonder whether they shouldn’t stay up a bit longer. Although the record World Cup champions from South America aren’t among the absolute favourites for the tournament, a possible sixth title wouldn’t really come as a shock to anyone.

Brazil in a precarious state

There are many reasons to view the Brazilian team with concern at this tournament. The qualifiers were a nightmare; Brazil finished only fifth, behind Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia and Uruguay, and in doing so lost a home match in World Cup qualifying for the first(!) time in its history. Had the World Cup still been held under the old 32-team format, Brazil would not have qualified directly.

However, it is not only the recent past that is causing scepticism, but also the current squad. You’ll search in vain for superstars of the calibre of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho or even Pelé. The former world-class player Neymar has been plagued by injuries in recent years and may be travelling to North America merely as a figurehead. As has since been confirmed, he will miss the match against Morocco.

Players such as Raphinha of FC Barcelona and Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid may well be among the best in the world when playing for their clubs – but they rarely replicate that form for the national team. Brazil’s greatest hope is probably manager Carlo Ancelotti, who has won the Champions League five times with his teams and has been crowned champion at least once in all(!) five top European leagues.

Morocco: a giant-killer four years ago

Under these circumstances, some experts consider it a distinct possibility that Brazil will finish second in their group – behind Morocco. The situation there is fairly clear. Four years ago, the team finished top of their group ahead of the reigning World Cup finalists Croatia and dark horses Belgium; on their way to the semi-finals, they defeated Spain and Portugal. There is little reason to believe that Morocco have gone any weaker since then.

Some of those rooting for the US team are certainly dreaming of a semi-final place too. In their opening match against Paraguay, the hosts certainly sent out a clear signal. They were the dominant side throughout the 90 minutes and were already three goals ahead at half-time. It was not just the result, but also their style of play that ensured the USA have made the best impression of the eight teams that have played so far.

Canada had also kicked off their tournament campaign earlier. Unlike Mexico and the USA, the third World Cup host nation managed only a draw and no win in their opening match, but Canada did score points with their opening ceremony. This focused less on spectacle and more on atmosphere.