Mbappé outshines Vini Júnior as Brazil lose to France with an extra man | OneFootball

Brazil lost to France 2-1 this Thursday in a friendly match in Boston, United States, as part of its preparation for the World Cup. Brazil had a one-man advantage at Gillette Stadium from seven minutes into the second half, after Upamecano was sent off, but failed to make the most of its numerical superiority. Mbappé and Ekitike scored for the French side, while Bremer pulled one back.

Mbappé outshines Vinícius Júnior

In the individual showdown between the Real Madrid stars, Mbappé came out on top. He scored France’s first goal with a delicate chip over Ederson. The Brazilian, meanwhile, had a quiet performance.

📋 Match summary

🟢🟡🔵 BRAZIL 1 X 2 FRANCE 🔵⚪🔴

🏆 Competition: International friendly 🏟️ Venue: Gillette Stadium, Boston (USA) 📅 Date: March 26, 2026 (Thursday) ⏰ Kickoff time: 5 p.m. (Brasília time) 👥 Attendance: 66,713 fans 🟨 Yellow cards: Léo Pereira, Casemiro and Bremer (Brazil); Konaté and Maignan (France) 🟥 Red cards: Upamecano (France)

Officiating

Goals:

🟢🟡🔵 Brazil

Ederson; Wesley (Ibañez), Bremer, Léo Pereira and Douglas Santos; Casemiro (Gabriel Sara) and Andrey Santos (Danilo); Raphinha (Luiz Henrique), Vinícius Júnior, Gabriel Martinelli (João Pedro) and Matheus Cunha (Igor Thiago). Head coach: Carlo Ancelotti

🔵⚪🔴 France

Maignan; Malo Gusto, Konaté, Upamecano and Theo Hernández; Tchouaméni (Kanté) and Rabiot; Olise, Dembélé (Lacroix), Ekitike (Doué) and Mbappé (Thuram). Head coach: Didier Deschamps

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How the match unfolded

France controlled possession in the opening stages, but could not break through Brazil’s defense. In the fourth minute, Brazil threatened Maignan. Raphinha got on the end of a ball played behind the defense and struck it first time, but sent it over the bar.

Brazil had another good chance in the 26th minute. Vinícius Júnior won the ball high up the pitch and passed it to Gabriel Martinelli, who set it onto his left foot and hit a low shot. The ball skimmed just past the post.

In the 31st minute, the French opened the scoring. Tchouaméni won back possession and fed Dembélé, who delivered a superb pass to Mbappé. The No. 10 went one-on-one with Ederson and delicately chipped the ball into the back of the net.

Second half

Ancelotti made changes at halftime and immediately saw the substitution pay off at the start of the second half. Luiz Henrique replaced Raphinha and sparked the match. In the fourth minute, the forward made a good run down the right and unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the box, but Maignan made the save.

Brazil went a man up in the seventh minute. Wesley burst forward freely toward the box and was brought down by Upamecano. The referee initially showed a yellow card, but changed the decision after reviewing the play on VAR and sent off the French center back.

However, Brazil failed to capitalize on the numerical advantage and conceded a second goal in the 19th minute. France broke on the counter through Olise, who found Ekitike unmarked in the six-yard box. The striker lifted the ball over Ederson to double the lead.

Brazil pulled one back in the 32nd minute. Danilo delivered a free kick to the far post for Casemiro, who flicked it on to Luiz Henrique. The forward sent it into the six-yard box and found Bremer, who tapped it in. The team kept pushing for an equalizer, but could not get past the French defense.

Next matches

Brazil

France

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