The Olympic teams of Morocco and Brazil were supposed to meet in a second friendly in Fez, but the match was suspended due to the earthquake that affected 300,000 people.
In the first match, Morocco, with the Blaugrana center-back Chadi Riad as the starter, defeated the Seleçao, with Vitor Roque as their ‘9’, 1-0.
Vitor Roque returns to Brazil. The second friendly between the Olympic teams of Morocco and Brazil, which should have been played this Monday in Fez, has been suspended. due to the shock created by the devastating earthquake that devastated the Maghreb country. There are 300,000 people affected, 2,300 dead and the number of injured more than 2,000 as reported by local authorities.
The Moroccan Federation has informed the CBF that there is no possibility of playing a new friendly after King Mohamed VI ordered three days of official mourning. At first, the possibility of playing the friendly game behind closed doors was considered, but logic prevailed amid a climate of great panic over what happened and the extraordinary consequences of the earthquake.
The earthquake did not affect the region of Fez where the two teams are concentrated. Confederaçao even reported that Brazilian internationals will feel its effects. As a precaution, they were sent out of their hotel rooms and stayed outside for an hour in the pool area. After that they were able to continue to rest. Brazil held two preparatory sessions in the last two days.
Last Friday, hours before the disaster, the Little Lions won 1-0, in a match where Brazil had control of the game for several minutes, but where they failed to activate their ‘Tiger’, very well covered by a line of five defenders.
Morocco is more prepared than Brazil, because, despite the test in the first friendly, it has maintained the base of the team that was the champion of the U-23 Africa Cup in July. This victory qualifies him for the Paris 2024 Games next summer.
For the Seleçao, the matches against Morocco are seen as an opportunity to build a new team thinking about the pre-Olympic in South America, which will be held in January in Venezuela, and where only two places are at stake for the Paris 2024 Games.
Brazil, which is the current two-time Olympic champion (they won in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020), is under pressure to find qualification and, after that, try to add a third Olympic gold. Ramon Menezes, who won the last U20 South American with Vitor Roque, is in charge of the ‘Canarinha’ Olympic project.
