Midfielder Hung Dung: 'Morocco played a great match against Brazil'

As previously predicted by midfielder Do Hung Dung, the Moroccan national team excellently held Brazil to a draw in their opening match. Assessing the game's dynamics, the 2019 Vietnamese Golden Ball winner believes Morocco was actually the better side, creating more dangerous opportunities and displaying coherent gameplay: "Clearly, this was a match where Morocco played better and clearly demonstrated their tactical planning. They proactively ceded possession to Brazil from the very first minutes. However, Morocco organized an active defense in the final third of the pitch, right in front of the center-backs."

Specifically, Morocco maintained excellent team shape in the midfield area and constantly moved as a tightly linked unit. This meant that almost all of Brazil's attacking passes through the center were completely disrupted, forcing the opponent to send the ball to the wings for crosses and high balls.

Inside, the center-back pair of Chadi Riad (1m87) and Issa Diop (1m94) handled aerial balls exceptionally well, while Brazil's attack, featuring only Thiago alone, could not make a difference. Moreover, this center-back duo possesses excellent ball-playing ability, allowing them to directly distribute the ball and significantly relieve the pressure from Brazil's pressing game."

Not only praising Morocco's defensive setup, the Hanoi FC midfielder also highly commended the African side's transition play: "Morocco's attack is extremely fast. They have players who can power through and take down opposing defenders.

After scoring the opening goal, they once again dropped back to defend in their own half, lurking and waiting for counter-attacking opportunities. At certain moments, Morocco even proactively held possession and combined passes to reduce pressure, preventing Brazil from committing fully to the attack.

Morocco's central midfield pairing in this match also played brilliantly, calmly controlling the ball and not falling into the traps set by Brazil. Hakimi, despite playing as a right-back, always appeared in time at hot spots to threaten Alisson Becker's goal. Minimizing the opponent's playing space and constant pressing were the most successful factors for Morocco in this match."

However, Hung Dung believes that the results of Brazil's upcoming matches will be very different, and the South American representative will only truly unleash their full strength when entering the knockout rounds: "I think Brazil was not too rushed in this match; they didn't give 100% effort to beat Morocco at all costs. Brazil still has two more matches in the group stage. They will have long-term calculations to fall into a favorable bracket, avoiding strong opponents too early, so their playing style will likely be very different in the upcoming rounds.

As for the Moroccan national team, they will also have to adjust their tactics, proactively adopting an attacking approach when facing more manageable opponents in the following matches."