Brazil beat Croatia convincingly: 3-1 | OneFootball

With six changes from the team that was beaten by France last week, the Brazilian national team defeated Croatia 3-1 on Tuesday night (31) in Orlando (USA), in its final friendly before the World Cup squad announcement. Danilo Santos, Igor Thiago, and Gabriel Martinelli scored for the Seleção, which left the field to applause.

Despite the lack of chemistry, due to a lineup that had never played together before, Brazil dominated its opponent, which finished third at the 2022 World Cup. Proof of that was that one of the standout performers in the match was goalkeeper Livakovic. He prevented at least two more Brazilian goals with daring saves.

Brazil’s superiority was even more evident in the first half, when it created several chances. The first came in the 20th minute, when Vini Jr took advantage of a misplaced Croatian pass and played the ball to Danilo Santos, who nearly scored. In the 23rd minute, Matheus Cunha got off an unmarked shot after a well-worked free-kick routine taken by Danilo Santos. The ball struck an opponent and went just wide of the post.

Then, in the 35th minute, after a good move by Matheus Cunha, João Pedro entered the box and finished confidently. But Livakovic kept Croatia from conceding.

Danilo Santos scored his first goal for BrazilCredits: Rafael Ribeiro / CBF

However, in the 46th minute came the goal that started the victory. It came from a very well-organized counterattack that began with a precise long ball from Matheus Cunha to Vini Jr. The tricky No. 10 dribbled past three markers with skill and passed to Danilo Santos, who finished with class. It was his first for the Seleção.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti made eight changes throughout the second half. He wanted to see all the called-up players in action — only goalkeeper Hugo Souza did not take the field in the two friendlies. Brazil kept up the tempo and had the game under control. But on a quick Croatian break, Majer equalized in the 38th minute.

For the more than 46,000 fans at Camping World Stadium, it seemed the score was set. That was when Endrick, who had come on shortly before, made his presence felt. In the 40th minute, he advanced down the right and, inside the box, was brought down by Josip Sutalo. Penalty. The forward even stepped up to take it, but handed the ball to Igor Thiago, who struck it well and with power, also scoring his first goal in Brazil’s yellow shirt.

In stoppage time, Endrick started another counterattack, to the despair of the Croatian defense, and set up Gabriel Martinelli one-on-one with the goalkeeper to finish and make it 3-1 to Brazil. Celebration in the stadium, virtually taken over by Brazilian fans, and great joy among those wearing the yellow shirt that will be used at the World Cup and was debuted by the Seleção in great style.

Lineup

Brazil – Bento, Ibañez (Danilo), Marquinhos, Léo Pereira, Douglas Santos (Andrey Santos), Casemiro (Fabinho), Danilo Santos (Kaiki), Matheus Cunha (Rayan), Vini Jr (Martinelli), Luiz Henrique (Endrick) and João Pedro (Igor Thiago).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.