Mbappe Inspires 10-Man France To Win Over Brazil

Foxborough, Massachusetts – Kylian Mbappe edged within a single strike of France’s all-time goal record and inspired the world champions to a resilient 2-1 victory over Brazil on Thursday night at a sold-out Gillette Stadium, despite playing a man down for more than half an hour.

The 27-year-old captain, recently back from a three-week knee lay-off, broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute, racing on to Ousmane Dembele’s slide-rule pass and lifting a cool finish over goalkeeper Ederson. The strike took Mbappe to 56 goals in 95 senior caps, leaving him one behind the 57 benchmark set by the now-retired Olivier Giroud.

France’s task grew tougher ten minutes after the restart when centre-back Dayot Upamecano was dismissed. American referee Guido Gonzales, after consulting VAR, upgraded an initial yellow to red for Upamecano’s foul on Wesley that denied a clear scoring chance on the edge of the box.

Rather than fold, Didier Deschamps’ side doubled the advantage on 65 minutes. Michael Olise, the Bayern Munich winger, threaded a low ball into the area where Hugo Ekitike, the Liverpool striker, clipped a composed finish beyond Ederson for his second international goal.

Brazil, guided by new coach Carlo Ancelotti and missing a host of regulars including Alisson Becker, Gabriel Magalhaes and Bruno Guimaraes, pulled one back 12 minutes from time when Gleison Bremer forced home from close range after Luiz Henrique’s knock-down. The Selecao pressed for an equaliser but France, reinforced by debutant defender Maxence Lacroix, held firm to close out the glamour friendly.

The result offers Les Bleus a timely lift two-and-a-half months before the World Cup kicks off, where they will meet Senegal, Norway and a play-off winner in the group stage. Brazil, drawn alongside Morocco, Scotland and Haiti, must regroup ahead of a Tuesday meeting with Croatia in Orlando.

“We are creating lots of chances and we are looking a bit more solid,” Mbappe told reporters. “We are moving forward and this will help us prepare for the World Cup.”

Ancelotti, assessing his first defeat in charge, described himself as “half-satisfied.”

“When you lose a game, you should never be happy,” the Italian said. “The result isn’t the most important thing, but it does reveal what we did well and what we didn’t.”

France now heads to Northwest Stadium near Washington DC to face Colombia on Saturday, where Mbappe could equal – or surpass – Giroud’s longstanding mark.