EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey, June 13 (Reuters) - Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti made a surprise decision to select striker Igor Thiago over Matheus Cunha to start in their World Cup Group C opener against Morocco on Saturday.
• Brazil starting lineup includes forward Igor Thiago who will make his debut in a World Cup alongside Vinicius Jr and Raphinha.
• Last season the Brentford striker was the firstBrazilian to score more than 20 goals in a single Premier League campaign.
• Roger Ibanez and Douglas Santos to start as full backs with Marquinhos and Gabriel Magalhaes in central defence.
• Neymar misses the game as he recovers from a calf injury.
• Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi selects midfielder Bilal El Khannouss to start in place of injured Abde Ezzalzouli.
• Brazil and Morocco are in Group C with Scotland and Haiti.
Lineups:
Brazil: Alisson; Roger Ibanez, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhaes, Douglas Santos; Casemiro, Bruno Guimaraes, Lucas Paqueta; Raphinha, Vinicius Jr, Igor Thiago.
Morocco: Yassine Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Issa Diop, Chadi Riad, Noussair Mazraoui; Ayyoub Bouaddi, Azzedine Ounahi, Ismael Saibari, Bilal El Khannouss, Neil El Aynaoui, Brahim Diaz.
(Reporting by Fernando KallasEditing by Christian Radnedge)
