Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti refused to blame individual players after his team started their tournament with an unconvincing 1-1 draw with Morocco in New Jersey.‘I won’t take any criticism of the individual players who started the match,’ said Ancelotti.‘There is criticism for the entire team which did not play well in the first half.’Ancelotti will know the truth, though. And that is that he wasn’t only let down by the technical output of his players but also by a lack of physical effort from some of those in yellow, with former West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta perhaps the worst offender.There continues to be a question mark, meanwhile, over the form of goalkeeper Alisson.The 33-year-old should really be in his prime years now but he endured a difficult season with Liverpool last time round and was exposed dreadfully as Morocco took an early lead at the MetLife.Injuries didn’t help him last season. He had two spells on the sidelines as Liverpool struggled. But there continue to be issues hanging over Alisson’s judgement and timing and his dash from goal to make it easy for Morocco’s Ismael Saibari to score was a stark example of that.Late in the game, meanwhile, Alisson dived to his left to parry a low shot that was actually going wide and then had to scramble the follow-up round the post.Liverpool already need a clutch of new outfield players ahead of Andoni Iraola’s debut season in 2026/27. They will be looking for evidence out here that they don’t need a new goalkeeper as well. Ancelotti wasn’t only let down by the technical output of his players but also by a lack of physical effort from some of those in yellow Former West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta was perhaps the worst offenderChelsea the Real winners in Cucurella moveThe first big transfer of the World Cup is in the offing with Real Madrid agreeing a deal to sign Marc Cucurella from Chelsea for just over £50m.Cucurella is a fine attacking full-back but this is still a good deal for Chelsea, a club that needs a shift in its dressing room culture.Chaos off the field at Stamford Bridge – with managers regularly coming and going – has been mirrored on the pitch with poor discipline undermining much of what Chelsea did under Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior last season.Cucurella was too often at the heart of it with play acting and dissent towards referees among the Spaniard’s specialities.The 27-year-old said midway through last year that Chelsea needed more players with experience and he was right. But experience doesn’t always come accompanied by maturity and Cucurella only needs to look in the mirror for evidence of that.Truth comes out in the wash Interesting to hear Jude Bellingham talk of problems in the England camp during Euro 2024. Media reports of such were denied at the time but you often find that the truth ekes out once a bit of distance has been put between events.‘At the Euros we got some things a little bit wrong off the pitch,’ Bellingham said on England’s Lions’ Den show.‘I don’t feel like the group connected as well as it could have for a number of reasons.’Bellingham himself was part of the reason for this and we wonder whether a sense of self-awareness has arrived at last for the Real Madrid star.Certainly the word is that he is a much more cohesive presence around the England camp under Thomas Tuchel. Bellingham pulling in the right direction both on and off the field promises to be a huge force for good at this World Cup and he looks to be edging ahead of Morgan Rogers in his bid to start Wednesday’s game against Croatia. The word is that Jude Bellingham is a much more cohesive presence around the England camp under Thomas Tuchel than tournaments pastScots’ teething problemsScotland fans reported having to walk for an hour in blazing heat after being dropped off by official vehicles not particularly in the vicinity of the Gillette Stadium ahead of their game with Haiti on Saturday.It is just one example of supporters being let down as organisational teething problems blighted the early days of this tournament and it is to be hoped that FIFA officials have been taking notes.On the field, meanwhile, Scotland got the result they craved as they beat Haiti 1-0 but it’s reasonable to say they will have to be better if they are to get anything from their next game against Morocco on Friday.A first win in the World Cup in 36 years is not to be sniffed at but the truth is that the team ranked 83 in the world outperformed Scotland in all the key margins apart from the one that matters.Haiti had more possession, a higher XG (expected goals), more shots, more touches in the opponent’s box and more corners. Steve Clarke’s team may well progress to the next stage on the back of that win alone but they will need to find something more if they are to trouble the scorers against Morocco and indeed Brazil. Scotland got the result they craved as they beat Haiti 1-0 but it’s reasonable to say they will have to be better if they are to get anything from their next game against MoroccoFIFA need to tighten up tardinessFIFA also have work to do when it comes to some of the basics, including making sure games kick off on time.Every single one of the first eight games started late with the delays being anything from 40 seconds – Australia v Turkey – to more than six minutes for the opening game between Mexico and South Africa.There has been footage of players emerging late from their dressing rooms which never helps but the real culprit has been the amount of FIFA paraphernalia that needs to be cleared from the playing surface before a game can start.Every game feels like a cup final at the beginning. Twelve down, 92 to go.BBC feeling the heat Few people may have been enamoured with the BBC’s decision not to base the early stages of their coverage from the United States but their pundits still hit the mark.Alan Shearer was with Guy Mowbray on comms for the Brazil game and had a very simple reason for the fact an open and entertaining game fizzled out into a stalemate in the second half.‘The heat got to the players,’ said Shearer.‘They couldn’t keep the same levels of intensity up in those conditions.’ Few people may have been enamoured with the BBC’s decision not to base the early stages of their coverage from the United StatesCuracao’s embarrassment is not good for the gameGermany’s thrashing of Curacao laid bare the folly of FIFA expanding this tournament to 48 teams.Some may see the tiny Caribbean island’s appearance in a World Cup as a fairytale but there is nothing romantic about being embarrassed in front of a global audience in your first game.The record for a World Cup victory, meanwhile, is the 10-1 mauling Hungary handed out to El Salvador in the Spain finals of 1982. Co-incidentally, that eclipsed the Magyars’ previous best – a 9-0 beating of South Korea in 1954.Football fever in the Big AppleNew York has been alive to the sound of New York Knicks fans celebrating their dramatic NBA Finals win over the San Antonio Spurs this week. The Knicks clinched the series 4-1 with victory on Saturday night, ending a 53-year wait for the title.And while a grand parade through the Big Apple is now planned for Thursday, the World Cup is also finding its place over here.USA’s performance in beating Paraguay 4-1 in Los Angeles on Friday night had bars packed in New Jersey. Admittedly, some seem intent only on finding an excuse to chant ‘USA! USA!’ over and over again. It doesn’t seem to matter what the sport is.But there were a number of MLS team shirts on display too even if nobody outside the stadium seems to own a USA team jersey. That clearly isn’t a thing. USA’s performance in beating Paraguay 4-1 in Los Angeles on Friday night had bars packed in New JerseyClassy Van Dijk marches on Credit to Virgil van Dijk for scoring his team’s opening goal and grabbing the man of the match award as Holland drew with the dangerous Japan.Nobody in the Premier League played more football than Van Dijk last season. He started every one of Liverpool’s league games and the vast majority in the domestic cups and Champions League. Simply, he was too valuable to be left out.Due to turn 35 before this tournament is done, Van Dijk is in the twilight years of his career and it would be no surprise if all that football caught up with him in the heat of north America and Mexico.No sign of it so far and though Ronald Koeman’s team will be disappointed to have conceded an equaliser so late, they will know that they have just faced one of the tournament’s dark horses and come away with a decent result.