Future Real Madrid forward Endrick scored his first senior international goal to fire Brazil to a 1-0 friendly win over a much-changed England team at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
With Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka among those to miss out through injury, Anthony Gordon, Ezri Konsa and Kobbie Mainoo made their senior England debuts, the latter duo doing so off the bench as Gareth Southgate took the opportunity to experiment ahead of Euro 2024.
Though the Three Lions had their opportunities, most notably through Gordon, Brazil looked the more threatening side throughout with Vinicius Junior missing a glorious chance and Lucas Paqueta hitting the post.
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Their winner came with 10 minutes left as Endrick made a dream impact off the bench, the 17-year-old tapping into an empty net after Jordon Pickford denied Vinicius.
The result ended England’s 20-match unbeaten run at Wembley, and Southgate now has just one further friendly to test his players before naming his Euros squad – against Belgium on Tuesday.
VITÓRIAAAAA! QUE ORGULHOOOO!!💚💛
Com gol de Endrick, a Seleção Brasileira venceu a Inglaterra por 1 a 0, em Wembley. Em sua estreia, Dorival Júnior conquista uma vitória importante para o novo ciclo do Brasil! 🇧🇷
VAMOOOSSSS!!!
📸: Rafael Ribeiro/CBF#BRAxING… pic.twitter.com/ZIStqXvIRO
— CBF Futebol (@CBF_Futebol) March 23, 2024
Brazil should have gone ahead after 12 minutes as Paqueta sent Vinicius through on goal, but he made poor contact with his finish and Kyle Walker prevented it from crossing the line, though the right-back was substituted after suffering an apparent hamstring injury in that incident.
England’s first clear-cut chance fell to stand-in striker Ollie Watkins, but the Aston Villa man couldn’t keep his shot down under fierce pressure from Fabricio Bruno.
Paqueta side-footed against the left-hand post with Pickford rooted to the spot shortly after the half-hour mark, then the West Ham midfielder was incredibly fortunate to avoid a second yellow card for tripping Jude Bellingham as half-time approached.
Gordon forced Bento into action twice either side of the interval, seeing a bending effort pushed away then volleying against the Brazil shot-stopper following Declan Rice’s deep free-kick.
⚪️🆚🔵 pic.twitter.com/98l2fzkpGI
— England (@England) March 23, 2024
Paqueta got away with yet another foul before curling a first-time effort just wide of the top-left corner as Brazil fired off another warning shot shortly after the hour mark.
England looked increasingly disjointed as Southgate made a string of second-half changes, and they were punished with 80 minutes gone.
Andreas Pereira’s throughball released Vinicius, and though Pickford smothered his attempt, Palmeiras star Endrick bundled the rebound home, becoming Brazil’s youngest goalscorer since Ronaldo Nazario in 1994 and sparking wild celebrations among the visiting fans.
The teenager could have added a second to cap a lightning break in stoppage time, only to be denied by Pickford, but it didn’t matter as Brazil kept England at arm’s length in the closing stages.
