Brazil beat Croatia in style: 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 (1) 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 bold 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 slipped the ball to Danilo Santos, who nearly scored. In the 23rd minute, Matheus Cunha got off an unmarked shot after a rehearsed free-kick routine by Danilo Santos. The ball took a deflection and went just wide of the post.

Then, in the 35th minute, after a fine move by Matheus Cunha, João Pedro got into the box and finished confidently. But Livakovic saved Croatia’s goal.

In the 46th minute, however, the opening goal came. It came from a very well-worked counterattack that began with a precise long ball from Matheus Cunha to Vini Jr. The lively number 10 beat three defenders with skill and set up Danilo Santos, who finished with class.

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

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

In stoppage time, Endrick started another counterattack, much to the despair of the Croatian defense, and sent Gabriel Martinelli through on goal to finish and extend the lead: Brazil 3-1. Celebration in the stadium, practically 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 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.