Mbappe & Ekitike fire France to huge friendly win vs out-of-sorts Brazil | OneFootball

France kicked off preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a morale-boosting 2-1 victory over Brazil at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Despite securing an early qualification, Brazil’s path to the World Cup wasn’t as smooth as usual, as their six defeats in this cycle mark the most they’ve ever suffered in a single qualifying campaign.

That was precisely the reason the record-time world champions turned to one of the most decorated coaches in football history in May 2025 when they appointed Carlo Ancelotti as Dorival Junior’s successor.

However, the Selecao have delivered a mixed bag of performances since completing their qualifying campaign in September, claiming just two wins in four international friendlies.

A 1-1 draw against Tunisia last time out was far from encouraging, yet Ancelotti refused to include Santos superstar Neymar in his squad for the trip to the United States.

France talisman Kylian Mbappe backed his former Paris Saint-Germain teammate to claw his way back into the national team before this summer’s tournament during his recent interview with ESPN.

Indeed, the Real Madrid speed demon admitted he ‘can’t imagine’ a World Cup without Brazil’s all-time top goalscorer, Neymar, who boasts 128 senior caps for the CONMEBOL heavyweights.

Neymar wasn’t in New England to help Brazil, but Mbappe made the most out of his 95th international appearance, scoring the opening goal midway through the first half after receiving a teasing through ball from Ousmane Dembele.

It was nothing less than what France deserved for their first-half performance, as they had the Selecao on the ropes in the opening half an hour of play, dominating possession and keeping Ancelotti’s side far away from Mike Maignan’s goal.

Didier Deschamps fielded arguably his strongest starting line-up, headlined by a star-studded attack featuring Michael Olise, Hugo Ekitike, Dembele and Mbappe, while Ancelotti decided to experiment with his squad.

With that in mind, it wasn’t surprising that France demonstrated their superiority in the first half, perhaps best illustrated by the fact that Brazil entered the half-time break without a single shot on target.

However, Bayern Munich centre-back Dayot Upamecano handed the South American team’s comeback hopes a major boost at the start of the second half, receiving a straight red card for a cynical foul on Wesley Franca.

Keen to seize the numerical advantage, Ancelotti threw Chelsea forward Joao Pedro into the mix, but the Selecao struggled to find a way past Les Bleus’ stubborn backline despite taking control of the game.

Things would soon go from bad to worse for Brazil, as France engineered a lightning-fast counter-attack through Olise, who picked the ball at the halfway line before setting up Ekitike one-on-one with Ederson.

In addition to timing his run to perfection, the Liverpool striker demonstrated composure and skill to chip the ball over the Fenerbahce goalkeeper, doubling France’s lead in the 65th minute.

Ekitike’s availability was a major talking point heading into this clash, but according to AS, the former Eintracht Frankfurt forward shrugged off his fitness problem just in time for this heavyweight showdown.

Meanwhile, when it looked like Brazil couldn’t do anything to harm the two-time world champions, Juventus defender Gleison Bremer gave them a glimmer of hope that they could avoid defeat on North American soil for the sixth game in a row.

Bremer was in the right place at the right time to turn home Luiz Henrique’s hopeful ball in, restoring drama in the final 15 minutes, as the Selecao pushed hard to find an equaliser.

It was all Brazil in the closing stages, but Deschamps’ defence withstood the pressure as France edged the evenly balanced head-to-head in their favour, recording their seventh win in this fixture to Brazil’s six.