A goal from the Real Madrid striker decides the friendly in Boston

Kylian Mbappé returned in style with France and led the solvent victory against a Brazil in construction. The Real Madrid striker opened the scoring and Ekitike, when France had been down to one man due to Upamecano's expulsion, put the sentence. The 'bleus' highlighted the obvious shortcomings of a 'canarinha' where Ancelotti has a lot of work to do.

The Italian coach opted to place Raphinha on the right wing and Vinicius as a striker in a double striker. The approach did not work and the Barcelona player was also substituted at half-time due to muscle discomfort. Neither did a defense too weighed down by the losses of Gabriel and Marquinhos. On that first waterline France found a hole through which Mbappé slipped.

In the midst of Deschamps' men's logjam in attack, Tchouaméni recovered a ball from Casemiro's exit, Dembélé put Kylian running and the Madrid striker did not miss in the one-on-one. A ball against Ederson and to celebrate. Earlier, Brazil had hardly troubled with two shots from Raphinha and Martinelli.

Forced change... and alarm in Barcelona

Ancelotti's plan to wait and attack space suffered a turnaround with that first French goal. Raphinha was not fine and there was hardly any news of Vinicius in Boston. The Barça winger, in fact, stayed in the dressing room at half-time due to discomfort in his right thigh. But the truth is that it was great for Brazil. The appearance of Luiz Henrique stirred up the first minutes of the second half.

Brazil seemed to be on the verge of an equalizer at the start and found more reasons to believe in it when Upamecano was sent off for a clear trip on Wesley. After the VAR review, that tackle being the last man penalised the centre-back, who left his team at a disadvantage. But, far from dominating and generating chances, he found the second goal for the French.

A clean start from the back, a precise transition and a finish, Ekitike's, that resembled Mbappé's in the first goal. Too easy. A sign of a marked defensive fragility on the side of the 'canarinha'. A team made against one to do.

And Brazil found a logical reason to believe with Bremer's goal in the final stretch. In a confusing play from a free kick, the 'canarinha' could have cut the distance. The Juve centre-back, in fact, had the equaliser in his boots with a volley in added time that went into limbo. Even Vinicius, missing in action, came close to equalizing with the last shot of the match.

France ended up imposing its traces of a big team. She is a runner-up in the world and a regular in the final rounds. Just what Brazil has not been for a long time. It is still to be formed, to find that its figures explode with the national team and the team finds a game plan. And Ancelotti is against the clock. The World Cup, just around the corner, appears uncomfortable on the horizon of the 'canarinha'. Meanwhile, Mbappé accelerates for his particular set-up for the big event of the year. (Marca, 2026-03-26)