Amrabat's horror tackle on Vinicius prompts Rodrygo to defend his teammate

One of the most heated incidents so far this international break took place in a friendly match, not a competitive game.

It was in Morocco's 2-1 friendly victory over Brazil and, in the first half, there was a moment when Vinicius had possession of the ball in midfield, not posing much of a danger.

Yet, Sofyan Amrabat, one of the stars of the World Cup in Qatar, launched into a horror challenge which sparked a mini brawl involving players from both teams.

The Moroccan midfielder caught the Real Madrid player's trailing leg, and the forward jumped up immediately to remonstrate with Amrabat.

Rodrygo was the first of Vinicius' teammates on the scene and he squared up to the Fiorentina midfielder in order to stand up for his club and international teammate.

One interesting sidenote to this challenge is the fact rumors have been swirling that Barcelona are interested in signing the Moroccan midfielder, which means any future Clasicos could be even more ill-tempered.

An intense friendly match

The challenge and subsequent brawl were not befitting of a friendly match, especially with nothing at stake from a competitive standpoint.

Still, it was important for both teams as the Selecao sought to honor the memory of Pele in their first international since his passing, while Morocco were hoping to prove their run to the semi-final of the 2022 World Cup wasn't a mere fluke.

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