Brazil will use their international friendly against Egypt as a tactical rehearsal for their World Cup opener against Morocco, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has confirmed.

The five-time world champions are scheduled to face Egypt on June 6 at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, USA — exactly one week before they kick off their Group C campaign against Morocco on June 13 in the tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Though officially listed as part of Brazil’s final preparations, the fixture is widely seen as a strategic move by coach Carlo Ancelotti to simulate the physicality, pace and tactical discipline often associated with North African opposition, particularly Morocco.

Egypt, like Morocco, blend technical ability with defensive organisation and quick transitions — traits that propelled the Atlas Lions to global acclaim in recent tournaments. Facing the Pharaohs offers Brazil an opportunity to rehearse patterns of play against opponents who share stylistic similarities with their World Cup rivals.

The June 6 encounter will be played at the 67,000-seat Huntington Bank Field, home of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, and will mark the Seleção’s final outing before the tournament begins.

Brazil open their campaign against Morocco in Group C, which also includes Scotland and Haiti. The South Americans are expected to top the group but are wary of Morocco’s growing stature on the world stage.

Historically, Brazil have dominated their meetings with Egypt, winning all six previous encounters. Their most recent clash came in 2011.

Before the Egypt test, Brazil will also play high-profile friendlies in March against France and Croatia on American soil as part of a carefully structured build-up.

With Ancelotti at the helm, Brazil appear to be leaving little to chance — using Egypt not merely as opposition, but as a measuring stick to decode what could await them when they face Morocco on the sport’s biggest stage.

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By Kunle Solaja.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) appears to be shifting focus from its pending protest against DR Congo ahead of next month’s intercontinental play-off for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, after lining up friendly matches for the Super Eagles during the same international window.

Nigeria had protested issues surrounding their qualification pathway, hoping for a favourable decision that could alter the play-off equation. However, fresh developments suggest the federation may no longer be optimistic about overturning the situation.

Instead, the NFF has confirmed that the Super Eagles will participate in a Four-Nation Invitational Tournament in Amman, Jordan, during the FIFA Men’s International Window in March.

The period of the mini-tournament coincides with that of the Inter-Continental Play-off for the World Cup qualification.

The mini-tournament will open on Friday, 27 March 2026, with Nigeria taking on Iran’s senior national team at the 17,000-capacity Amman International Stadium.

On the same day, hosts Jordan will clash with Costa Rica at the 62,000-capacity King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, also in the Jordanian capital.

The competition will conclude on Tuesday, 31 March, when Nigeria faces host nation Jordan at the Amman International Stadium. Costa Rica and Iran will square off at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.

Organisers have indicated that kick-off times for the four fixtures will be announced in the coming days.

The decision to commit the Super Eagles to the Amman tournament during a window initially set aside for the intercontinental play-off has raised questions about the status of Nigeria’s protest and whether the NFF has effectively resigned itself to missing out on the decisive qualification fixture.

For now, the Super Eagles’ focus appears firmly fixed on competitive friendlies in the Middle East rather than a high-stakes World Cup showdown.

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All 104 matches of the 2026 World Cup will be “sold out”, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Feb 18, even though tickets are still available ahead of the tournament’s June 11 kick-off.

“The demand is there. Every match is sold out,” Infantino told CNBC.

Infantino, in an interview at US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, said that there had been 508 million ticket requests in four weeks for some seven million available tickets.

He said requests during the main sales phase in January came from more than 200 countries.

“(We’ve) never seen anything like that – incredible,” said Infantino, adding that football’s global governing body has kept “some tickets back” for the last-minute sales phase that will begin in April and run until the end of the World Cup on July 19.

Infantino addressed the issue of ticket prices, described as “exorbitant” by supporters’ associations, which have already reached record levels on resale sites.

As of Feb 11, a Category 3 seat – the highest section of the stands – for the tournament’s opening game between Mexico and South Africa at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium on June 11 was listed at US$5,324 (S$6,700), compared to an original price of US$895.

One Category 3 seat for the World Cup final on July 19 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, meanwhile, was being advertised for an eye-watering US$143,750 – more than 41 times its original face value of US$3,450.

The cheapest available ticket for the final on the resale site was listed at US$9,775.

“I think it is because it’s in America, Canada and Mexico,” Infantino said. “Everybody wants to be part of something special.

“Ticket prices have been fixed, but you have, in the US in particular, something called dynamic prices, meaning the prices will go up or down.

“You are able as well to resell your tickets on official platforms, secondary markets, so the prices as well will go up.

“That’s part of the market we are in.”

Ticketing has become one of the most controversial issues surrounding the World Cup, with fan groups around the world, such as Football Supporters Europe, accusing FIFA of a “monumental betrayal” over pricing.

That in turn prompted FIFA to introduce a sliver of tickets priced at US$60 for official supporters’ groups.

Critics maintain the cut-price category does not go far enough in addressing the problem.

Infantino estimated that the first 48-team World Cup would bring FIFA some US$11 billion or more in revenue, adding that “every dollar” will be reinvested in football in FIFA’s 211 member countries.

He put the World Cup’s impact on the US economy at around US$30 billion “in terms of tourism, catering, security investments and so on”.

Infantino estimated that in addition to seven million spectators, the World Cup would also attract 20 to 30 million tourists and create “185,000 full-time jobs”.

“It’s a big impact,” he said. “I hope this impact will not just be limited to the World Cup, but for the future as well.” 

-AFP

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