Hakimi embraces "African Brazilians" tag as Neymar misses World Cup opener

Hakimi: "They call us the African Brazilians"

Achraf Hakimi says Morocco are known as the "African Brazilians" ahead of the World Cup opener against Brazil today (10). The label reflects the technical, confident style your team brings to the biggest stage. The two sides meet in Group C on Saturday, and Hakimi's comments show the squad is embracing the comparison, not shrinking from it.

Neymar out, Brazil opener just got lighter

Neymar will miss Brazil's World Cup opener against Morocco with a calf injury, coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed (1) (5) (6). He is not training with the squad and is a doubt for Brazil's second and third group matches too (8).

Ancelotti: "He's working hard to get fit as quickly as possible. We hope he can return to full training next week" (6).

One less star to worry about. Still, Vinicius Jr is calling this "the most special moment of my career" and says he has never been in better shape (9).

Vinicius Jr respects Morocco, Ancelotti warns they are "very strong"

Vinicius Jr did not hide his respect for your team. "Without a doubt, Morocco has improved a lot. They're a team that plans their matches well and is capable of competing against anyone" (9).

Ancelotti piled on: "It doesn't matter if they are champions or runners-up of Africa, they are very strong" (14). Brazil's camp knows Morocco are not here to make up numbers.

Derksen stirs controversy over Dutch-born Morocco players

Dutch TV personality Johan Derksen has criticized players of Moroccan descent who choose to represent Morocco, calling it "stank voor dank", ingratitude (13). His comments target players like Nordin Ghouddani and will likely fire up fans ahead of the World Cup. The debate over dual-nationality players resurfaces every tournament, and Derksen's remarks are the latest flashpoint.