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Morocco reveals Brazil’s shortcomings but concludes with a draw in the World Cup heavyweight confrontation.

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Brazil and Morocco drew 1-1 in the first heavyweight encounter of the World Cup on Saturday, with the Africans showing their promise while exposing familiar faults in their opponents at a sold-out stadium.

Morocco deservedly took the lead in the first-half through Ismael Saibari before Vinicius Jr produced a moment of brilliance to level the scores and ensure the points were shared in the opening Group C match.

The result leaves the group finely poised until Haiti face Scotland later on Saturday.

For Morocco, semi-finalists at the 2022 World Cup, the performance was more proof they can challenge the traditional powers of the game.

But Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil side left with questions to answer following a disjointed display in which they were regularly stretched by the pace and movement of their opponents.’I don’t think we started well in the game, the team was a little bit jittery, we lost control too much, lost too many duels. “The first half was not good,” Ancelotti stated, adding his side improved after the interval.It was better in the second half; it’s a tough game because Morocco are a solid side. I guess there was a little amount of nerves. In the first half they were hitting out of our press and creating dangerous attacks.

“Do you ask me if I want to have the same trajectory (as in 2022), no, I want to go beyond the semi-finals this time”, said his Morocco colleague Mohamed Ouahbi.That was one point, but we were hoping for more. “One point is fine & we will get better.”

ENJOY MOROCCO BRIGHT BEGINNING

Morocco enjoyed the superior start, methodically working the ball down the flanks and threatening early on through Achraf Hakimi and Bilal El Khannouss while Brazil attempted to hit on the break.

Morocco routinely sliced through Brazil’s midfield with surprising ease, finding gaps between the lines as teenager Ayyoub Bouaddi demonstrated his skill.

Brazil’s first whiff of a goal came in the 14th minute but Igor Thiago couldn’t make the most of it, fluffing his header.

Seven minutes on and the five-time world champion’s defensive frailties were exposed.

Centre backs Marquinhos and Gabriel were out of position and Lucas Paqueta was robbed in midfield to allow Brahim Diaz to play Saibari through.

Alisson compounded his error with a poor charge off his line and Saibari coolly lobbed the ball over the custodian to put Morocco ahead.

Brazil kept battling against the intensity and organisation of Morocco, but the Africans were unable to parlay their supremacy into further goals.

Instead, it took a moment of brilliance from Vinicius to level the scores for Brazil in the 32nd minute.

Receiving a feed from Bruno Guimaraes on the left outside of the box, he cut inside on his right foot and fired an unstoppable shot into the far top corner.

Brazil were on the brink of the turnaround at the stroke of half-time, but keeper Yassine Bounou was quick to deny Paqueta’s acrobatic scissor kick.

BRAZIL TAKE CONTROL

Midfielder Fabinho and defender Danilo came on for Casemiro and Roger Ibanez, who had a poor first half, and Brazil had greater control in the second half.

Brazil raised the intensity, became more composed and made Morocco defend. But it was not until the 78th minute that they really tested the Moroccan defence when Raphinha met a cross from Vinicius.

Both sides largely avoided risks and the game left the edge. In the closing minutes, Brazil shown a bit of new life, coming near through substitute Matheus Cunha, but they lacked their vintage swagger.

However, both clubs will enjoy their prospects of reaching top of the group and possibly bettering their path in the knockout stages.

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PSX opens on a positive note, gains over 1,300 points in early trading

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 The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened Tuesday’s trading session on a positive note, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index climbing more than 1,300 points.

The index surged to 164,368 points during early trading, reflecting a strong upward movement in the market.

In the previous session, the benchmark index had settled at 163,038 points.

The latest rally marks a positive start to the trading day, with the market gaining momentum after the previous session’s close.
 

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Pakistan squad announced for ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy

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Muneeba Ali will lead Pakistan in ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy 2026 Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday named a 14-member squad for the forthcoming ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy 2026 to be held in Ajman, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 12 to 25.

The squad also includes hitters Eman Naseer, Eyman Fatima, Sadaf Shamas, Saira Jabeen and Shawaal Zulfiqar. Ayesha Zafar has been appointed the vice-captain. The squad also includes Gull Feroza who was declared the best wicketkeeper-batter in the recently ended National Women’s T20 Tournament.

Left-arm spinner Nashra Sundhu will head the bowling assault alongside Momina Riasat, Tuba Hassan and Umm-e-Hani in the spin quartet. The frontline pace options in the squad are Tasmia Rubab and Waheeda Akhtar.

The Pakistan women’s team has earned the Bronze Medal in the Asian Games in Japan. Sadaf and Waheeda have been recalled, while twelve players have retained their spot in the team from Pakistan’s last assignment. Regular skipper Fatima Sana will also be missing from Pakistan’s contingent as she will be in Australia playing her inaugural Women’s Big Bash League season.

The event involves 10 teams in two groups and 30 matches. Pakistan participate in Group B with Bangladesh, Thailand, Netherlands and Zimbabwe. Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, Scotland Papua New Guinea and hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE)

After the single-league round-robin round, three clubs from each group will qualify for the Super Six stage, where they will play three matches each. The final will be played on Wednesday November 25 between the top two teams from the Super Six stage.

Pakistan squad will gather in Lahore on November 6 and it will have a pre-tournament training camp on November 7, 8 and 9 before flying to UAE.

14-man squad

Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (c & wk), Ayesha Zafar (vc), Eman Naseer, Eyman Fatima, Gull Feroza (wk), Momina Riasat, Nashra Sundhu, Sadaf Shamas, Saira Jabeen, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Tasmia Rubab, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani, Waheeda Akhtar

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Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted Houthi missiles, drones attacking kingdom

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The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed Tuesday it intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles and drones launched at two areas of the kingdom by the Iran-aligned group, as the battle between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis escalates.

The coalition reported the Houthis launched three ballistic missiles toward the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia and four drones toward the Southern Region of the kingdom.

Saudi Civil Defence warned of a possible hostile threat in the Eastern Region and in the governorate of Kharj, and later said the risk has passed in both places.

Last month, the Houthis captured key strategic areas along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, moving closer to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical global shipping lane for Gulf oil producers across the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz. Since then, Saudi Arabia has stepped up its strikes against the Houthis.

The two sides have resumed fire, shattering a 2022 UN-brokered truce that had largely kept strikes at bay between the Saudi-led coalition, which backs Yemen’s internationally recognised government, and the Houthis who control the capital Sanaa.

The escalation also opens up a new front in the US-Israeli attack on Iran.

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