Endrick strikes late to down England

17-year-old future Real Madrid forward Endrick scored the only goal of the game as Brazil defeated England at Wembley.

Both sides were without key players with Anthony Gordon making his debut from the start while Dorival Júnior named five debutants in his Brazil side.

The first half was an entertaining and close game. Vinícius Júnior should have put Brazil ahead in the 12th minute when he was played through by a ball over the top from Lucas Paquetá. The Madrid man's shot passed Jordan Pickford but there wasn't enough power on the shot allowing Kyle Walker to get back and prevent the goal.

Manchester City fans will be worried though as the defender picked up an injury early on with Ezri Konsa coming on to make his debut as he replaced Walker.

Ollie Watkins had what was arguably England's best chance soon after when he was found in the box by Conor Gallagher but the Aston Villa forward's effort went over Bento's bar.

Paquetá was involved in most things in the first half, whether it was fouling Jude Bellingham or being vital to his side's attack. The West Ham United man came close to opening the scoring himself but saw his effort bounce back off the post.

Harry Maguire almost made a fatal error just before half-time when he was robbed by Raphinha but the Barcelona man couldn't make England pay.

As so often happens in friendly games, substitutions disrupted much of the flow of the second half. Kobbie Mainoo was one of those substitutes when he came on for his first cap with 15 minutes left on the clock.

But it was another teenage substitute who made the difference. Endrick, currently of Palmeiras, came off the bench to score what would be the winner in the 80th minute.

Fulham's Andreas Pereira played in a ball for Vinícius who just stayed onside with his shot being stopped by Pickford. The ball bounced kindly to Endrick though who had the simple task of passing the ball into an empty net.

A much-changed England team failed to create any chances of note to draw back on level terms with a lack of creativity once again being the Achilles' heel of Southgate's team.

The Three Lions can bounce back from this defeat on Tuesday when they take on Belgium in another friendly game.

Brazil take the victory at @wembleystadium this evening. pic.twitter.com/LN9nnejjM0

— England (@England) March 23, 2024