Morocco 2-1 Brazil: Atlas Lions defeat Selecao in friendly

Morocco followed on from their run to the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-finals by beating world number ones Brazil in a friendly on Saturday night.

An experimental Selecao side fell to defeat at the Grand Stade de Tanger as their first game under interim boss Ramon Menezes ended with a loss.

Brazil were without the likes of injured forwards Neymar and Richarlison in their first match since Tite left his post as head coach.

The visitors spurned the game's first golden opportunity following a gritty opening in Tangier. Lucas Paquetz managed to split the defence open with a pinpoint pass to Roni, but the Palmeiras winger fired over from close range.

Bayern Munich's Noussair Mazraoui flashed a shot narrowly wide midway through the first half before calamity goalkeeping from Bono - firstly strolling outside his area, gifting the ball back to Brazil and rushing to his line to deny them a certain goal, then being saved by an offside flag when slicing a clearance straight to Vinicius Junior - nearly saw the visitors break the deadlock.

But Morocco took the lead just before the half-hour mark. Sofiane Boufal drifted inside from the wing and received a cut-back from Bilal El Khannous, swivelling on the penalty spot and slotting past Weverton.

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Bono restored some confidence in his abilities with a fine save from a searing Rodrygo volley just after the break as Brazil ramped up the pressure in search of an equaliser.

The Sevilla goalkeeper's approval rating among home fans then dropped back through the floor again when he gifted Casemiro an equaliser. The midfielder lined up a strike from 25 yards and it seemed to be trickling towards Bono, who inexplicably let the ball roll through his body and over the line.

Nevertheless, Morocco went on to secure a famous win on home soil in the late stages of the contest. Yahia Attiyat Allah's cross was knocked back by Walid Cheddira and into the path of Abdelhamid Sabiri, whose half-volley cannoned into the roof of the net

Who will be Brazil's new manager?

The main subplot for this game back in Brazil was on how Menezes did in charge, with the search for a new permanent manager still ongoing.

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has been heavily linked with the job, receiving recent endorsements for the role from Casemiro and Ederson.

Roma manager Jose Mourinho has also been tipped to take the job.