France and Brazil are headlining one of the most attractive matchups of the March FIFA break, facing off in a friendly at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts. There, Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring with a superb finish.
The Real Madrid forward, who had been at the center of attention this week due to concerns over his fitness, was ultimately named in Didier Deschamps’ starting lineup and quickly made his quality felt.
In the 32nd minute of the first half, Mbappe received an excellent assist from Ousmane Dembele, allowing him to get past the Brazilian defenders and enter the box. One-on-one with Ederson, Mbappe showed composure, delicately lifting the ball over the goalkeeper to make it 1-0.
This goal reflected the balance of play between the two teams. France had been the better side in the first half, a trend that became even more evident after the opener. Brazil, meanwhile, despite featuring stars such as Raphinha and Vinicius, struggled to impose their style.
In the opening minutes of the second half, head coach Didier Deschamps decided to rest Mbappe and replaced him with Marcus Thuram. That substitution, along with those of other stars such as Dembele, did not affect France, who extended their lead through Hugo Ekitike. However, late in the match, Brazil pulled one back through Bremer.
Mbappe adds to his numbers with France
Thursday’s goal against Brazil was Kylian Mbappe’s first for France in 2026. With it, the forward has now scored in ten consecutive years for his national team, a streak that began with his senior debut in 2017.
Mbappe is also now closing in on equaling Olivier Giroud as France’s all-time leading scorer. The 27-year-old forward reached 56 goals, just one behind his former teammate from the 2018 World Cup-winning squad in Russia. In addition, Mbappe has recorded 40 assists, bringing his total to 96 goal contributions in 95 international appearances.
* Developing story
