"I am in a dream, Brazil is the first team in the FIFA ranking, country of football, and in the middle of Ramadan!" exclaimed Moroccan coach Walid Regragui at the post-match press conference.

"But the road is long, we must not ignite" to reach new heights, he immediately warned.

The Atlas Lions opened the scoring through Sofiane Boufal (29th) with a pivotal strike on an assist from the young Bilal El Khannous, starting for the second time in the national team.

Three minutes earlier, Vinícius Jr. had scored, but his goal was disallowed for offside, after a risky exit from Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.

The advantage was erased in the 67th on an innocuous shot by Casemiro that escaped Bounou, decidedly not at the party in the Tangier night.

Dominating against a messy Seleçao, Morocco regained the advantage ten minutes from the end thanks to a volley under the bar by the returning Abdelhamid Sabiri.

This is the first time that Morocco has emerged victorious from a confrontation with Brazil after two defeats in 1997 (2-0) and a year later (3-0) in the group stage of the World Cup-98 in France.

For this international revival, Walid Regragui relied on the backbone that lifted Morocco to the semi-finals of the World Cup, with Hakim Ziyech, Azzedine Ounahi, Noussair Mazraoui Sofiane Amrabat and Paris defender Achraf Hakimi, replaced at the beginning of the 2nd half.

Sold out

Opposite, the Seleçao, diminished, had to deal with the absences of Neymar, Marquinhos and Richarlison.

The five-time world champions have yet to name Tite's successor as coach, with Under-20 coach Ramon Menezes on an interim basis.

"Logically, it's not the expected result, even more so when we talk about the Brazilian team, but we played against a great team and we gave their chance to players, it's very important," Menezes said.

Sofiane Boufal (N.17) with Youssef En-Nesyri celebrate Morocco's first goal scored by the first against Brazil in Tangier, March 25, 2023 © Fadel Senna / AFP

The match was played to a sold-out crowd in the Grand Stadium of Tangier, in a supercharged atmosphere, a red and green tide of 65,000 supporters pushing the Lions until the final whistle.

Before kick-off, a minute's applause paid tribute to the memory of Pele, who died in December at the age of 82.

The Moroccan team will play a second friendly match against Peru on Tuesday in Madrid.

They had an exceptional run in Qatar by becoming the first African and Arab team to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup.

© 2023 AFP