"I am not here to be the best player of the tournament," Vinicius Jr said on the eve of Brazil's opening World Cup game. "I am here to help Brazil get back to the top." On the pitch at the New Jersey New York Stadium, the Real Madrid forward backed up those words with a moment of brilliance that rescued his side from a humiliating defeat.
Trailing Morocco 1-0 and looking decidedly second best, Brazil were staring at their first loss in an opening game since 1934. Then Vinicius collected a pass from Bruno Guimaraes on the left side of the penalty area, cut back inside onto his right foot and lashed a stunning strike into the roof of the net. The match finished 1-1.
“Vinicius Jr scores brilliant equalizer as Brazil labours to 1-1 draw against Morocco.”
But the five-time world champions were fortunate to escape with a point. Former England captain Alan Shearer described the performance as "ragged". South American football expert Tim Vickery told BBC Sport: "Ideally you want the team to make the stars, here you have a case of the star saving the team."
Morocco took the lead through Ismael Saibari and dominated large spells. Casemiro, 34, toiled in the heat before being replaced at half-time. Defender Roger Ibanez also failed to return for the second half as manager Carlo Ancelotti attempted to address the team's shortcomings.
Former Uruguay and Chelsea midfielder Gus Poyet told BBC Sport: "We were expecting more from them. I was surprised how bad technically they were today. I don't know if it was the pitch, maybe the pitch didn't help but they were missing passes, simple passes that you would expect the Brazilian players to do well."
Vickery added: "This is precisely why Brazil are so dangerous. How many teams can play that badly and still be in the game?"
Brazil, seeking a first World Cup triumph since 2002, have Haiti next in Philadelphia on 19 June followed by Scotland in Miami on 24 June. Fans worried by this performance should remember that Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia in their first game in Qatar four years ago – and then went on to be crowned world champions. This expanded World Cup, more than any other, is a marathon not a sprint.