World Cup opener at New York New Jersey Stadium ends in a draw for Morocco and Brazil as local fans celebrate New York Knicks’ basketball triumph.

East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States – It was called the pick of the group-stage matches at World Cup 2026 – and it largely lived up to its billing.

Brazil and Morocco squared off in front of a crowd of more than 80,000 passionate fans on Saturday and, with two stunning first-half goals and a frenetic end to the game, set the New York New Jersey Stadium alight.

But the 1-1 draw was only the first half of a historic night of sport in the bistate area.

Once the referee’s full-time whistle blew inside the stadium, local fans rushed out to ensure they did not miss Game 5 of the NBA Finals, in which the New York Knicks sealed a dramatic late victory against the San Antonio Spurs to land their first championship since 1973.

The thousands of Brazilian fans, a smaller number of Morocco supporters and tens of thousands of New York natives all blended in as sport took the front seat in both states.

Earlier, nearly four hours before kickoff, the first group of football fans began arriving at the Secaucus train station in New Jersey to make their final journey to the stadium in East Rutherford.

Having paid a steep and much criticised return fare of $98 for a journey to the stadium from New York or New Jersey, the supporters rushed through the station as tournament volunteers, security officials and bystanders looked on with amusement.

Once outside the venue, the fans brought out their drums, tambourines and best singing voices to create a festive atmosphere.

The Brazilians danced their way from the train station exit to the stadium’s points of entry, often pausing on the way to pose for photos or join their Moroccan counterparts in a sing-off.

Brazil supporters walked with an air of confidence, fully expecting the record five-time world champions to make a winning start to the tournament.

“We are not worried about our team’s chances. We know they will win,” Brazil fan Ricardo who goes by only one name told Al Jazeera.

Some Moroccans, though, were a little less assured of a big result against the South American giants.

“I know a lot of fans are expecting us to sail through to the final after our team’s performance in 2022, but I think this team is weaker,” Tareq Bouiber said while scratching his head, referencing Morocco’s performance in Qatar four years ago when it became the first African team as well as the first Arab one to reach the World Cup semifinals.

As kickoff inched closer on Saturday, the party shifted inside the stadium, and the noise levels grew dramatically.

The 82,000-capacity stadium transformed into a sea of yellow with pockets of red thrown in as Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil enjoyed the partisan support of loyal and occasional fans.

Relentless singing and chanting in Portuguese, backed by the sound of drums, drowned out every other sound.

However, it was Morocco who controlled play on the pitch and were rewarded for their possession when Ismail Saibari opened the scoring in the 21st minute with a beautiful scooped shot.

The goal sent the red parts of the stadium into delirium with chants of “Viva Maghreb” filling the air.

In a bid to push their team to score an equaliser, the Brazilians upped the volume and intensity of their singing, urging the players on with an “Ole, ole, ole” chant.

It took only 11 minutes for star forward Vinicius Jr to find space inside the Moroccan box and send the ball flying into the top right corner to pull the score to 1-1.

Both teams fought for possession but failed to create many attempts on goal until the added time in the second half when Morocco missed an easy chance to seal a shock win.

When the match ended in a draw, Brazil’s fans seemed the more disappointed of the two camps while Morocco’s supporters insisted it was another sign that their team could go all the way.

“We will do one better than last time and make it to the final,” Sana Bourada, who travelled from Washington, DC, to the stadium with her family, said after the match.

Still, both sets of supporters walked away with smiles on their faces.

Some of them, who had crossed the Hudson River for Brazil’s and Morocco’s opening match of the World Cup, joined one another in gearing up for the basketball finals.

“Let’s go Knicks” became the common chant as fans rushed out to watch what turned out to be the winning game in the best-of-seven series.

Nearly three hours later, the Knicks’ 94-90 win was greeted by more singing, dancing and fireworks that echoed across both states.