Article by Aurelian Botezatu – Published on Sunday, 07 June 2026, 07:42 / Updated on Sunday, 07 June 2026 07:43
Introduced at half-time, Endrick scored the winning goal for Brazil in the friendly with Egypt (2-1), and the supporters demand his tenure at the 2026 World Cup.
That 2-1 draw with Egypt was Brazil's last friendly before the start of the 2026 World Cup (June 11-July 19) and left coach Carlo Ancelotti in a big dilemma.
Endrick forces his way into the first eleven
Before the match he proposed one last experiment: “I want to try Paquetá and Igor Thiago to explore other options. The attacking four system is pretty well set up, but in this final test I want to try an alternative, because after this it is much more difficult to experiment.”
But really, it was Endrick who would convince him the most! He introduced the 19-year-old striker of Real Madrid at half-time, in place of Igor Thiago. And the kid on loan last season at Olympique Lyon scored spectacularly the goal of the Selecao victory: 2-1.
Carlo Ancelotti kissed Endrick after the goal
In the 52nd minute, he took Raphinha's cross into the net from the box (2-1). There was an explosion of joy in the stands as Ancelotti, very excited, took him in his arms and kissed him. And at home, in Brazil, a real debate has already started, with more and more fans expressing themselves in favor of starting Endrick in attack.
In another friendly, 3-1 with Croatia, played in April, the Real forward scored a penalty, converted by Igor Thiago for 2-1 (min. 88), and provided Martinelli with the decisive pass for the 3-1 (90+2).
Goal-blitz, canceled by the gift given to the Egyptians by Marquinhos
Against Egypt, midfielder Bruno Guimaraes opened the scoring (min. 8), who took advantage of an opponent's error and scored. The joy was short-lived.
Two minutes later, Marquinhos made an unusual error. He passed back without looking, feeding the ball to Ziko, who made no mistake against Alisson. A gift after which Brazil had to start all over again.
