England suffered their first defeat since the World Cup as teenage star Endrick came off the bench to secure Brazil a late victory against Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 hopefuls.
The highly anticipated friendly, dominated by the controversy over an altered St George’s flag on the new shirt and speculation about the manager’s future, failed to live up to expectations.
Southgate’s injury-hit side survived a few scares before 17-year-old Endrick’s first senior international goal secured a 1-0 win at a sold-out Wembley, ending England’s 10-match unbeaten run.
Brazil, under new boss Dorival Junior, had the better chances in a stop-start game, with Lucas Paqueta hitting the post and Vinicius Jr and Raphinha also going close.
The night started with a minute’s applause to honor the recent passing of football figures such as Stan Bowles, Ron Baynham, Mario Zagallo, and Terry Venables.
Brazil, on a run of three straight losses, showed promise under their new manager, with Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr posing early threats.
England struggled to create clear chances, with Ollie Watkins and Phil Foden unable to test the Brazilian defense effectively.
Brazil continued to press, with Paqueta coming close to scoring before the break with a shot that went just wide.
Both teams made changes in the second half, including England giving 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo his debut.
In the 80th minute, a defensive error by Lewis Dunk allowed Andreas Pereira to set up Vinicius Jr, whose shot was saved by Jordan Pickford, only for Endrick to score the rebound.
England pushed for an equalizer, but Brazil held on for the win, marking England’s first defeat at Wembley since the Euro 2020 penalty shoot-out loss to Italy.