Undefeated under the expert stewardship of Gareth Southgate, England had never lost a friendly on home soil – but began the much looked-forward-to encounter without the Three Lions’ all-time leading goalscorer Harry Kane and fellow talismanic attacking asset Bukayo Saka, with the in-form pair of OIlie Watkins and Anthony Gordon taking their places.
Meanwhile, an equally injury-plagued, out-of-form and new-look Brazil, who have ended up on the losing side in their latest hat-trick of 2026 CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup qualification matches, landed in London without the services of Gabriel Martinelli, Marquinhos, Casemiro and Alisson to mention just a few.
ENG: Pickford; Walker, Maguire, Stones, Chilwell; Rice, Gallagher; Bellingham, Foden, Gordon, Watkins
BRA: Bento; Danilo, Beraldo, Bruno, Wendell; Guimarães, Paquetá, Gomes; Raphinha, Junior, Rodrygo
Following a minute’s applause to celebrate the life of Terry Venables – who sadly passed away at the age of 80 in November – England dominated the opening attacking sequence throughout the first 10 minutes as Phil Foden’s free-kick flew narrowly wide as the Manchester City star tried to catch out Bento on his bow for Brazil.
In response, Rodrygo fired a low strike straight at Jordan Pickford to show that the game’s early pace wasn’t only flowing in the one direction in front of sold-out Wembley Stadium, before a last-ditch defensive interception from Kyle Walker denied Vinicius Junior getting his name onto the scoresheet.
Entrusted to lead the line in the absence of Kane, Ollie Watkins should have given England the lead. However, the striker, who has produced more goal contributions than any other player in the Premier League this season, could only prod his effort over the top of the crossbar following last-minute pressure from Fabrício Bruno.
Embed from Getty ImagesBen Chilwell fired two wayward efforts into the crowd behind Bento’s goal as the Three Lions continued to menacingly pursue the game’s opening goal before referee Artur Soares Dias whistled for half-time. However, at the opposite end of the hallowed Wembley turf, the deadlock came close to being broken as Lucas Paquetá beat Pickford but the right-hand post.
Unbeaten in their last 10 matches across all formats of the game, England started the second half how they began the first as debutant Anthony Gordon forced a fine save from Bento. Paquetá, who was arguably lucky to still be on the pitch after a plethora of fouls throughout the opening 45 minutes, fired an audacious first-time volley a whisker wide of the far post as the game entered the final quarter.
Sensationally, second-half substitute Endrick netted the match-winner for Brazil in the 80th minute as the highly-regarded 17-year-old, who is due to join Real Madrid at the end of the season, was in the right place at the right time to fire home the rebound after Vinicius’ one-on-one effort could only be parried out by Pickford.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe victory marks Brazil’s first success since September, as Dorival Júnior’s first match in charge will end with celebrations in the away dressing room at Wembley. Meanwhile, England will look to put this evening’s disappointment behind them as they face off against Belgium on Tuesday.
