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Brazil had an excellent warm-up, defeating Mexico 3-2 in a pre-Copa America friendly at Kyle Field Stadium in Texas on Saturday. Manager Dorival Junior, who took over as Brazil's head coach in January, chose to rest first-choice forwards Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, and Raphinha. His decision paid off, as Andreas Pereira converted from a Savio contribution during the fifth minute, giving them an early lead.
Mexico had a large amount of possession during the first half, however lacked the forward thinking that would challenge keeper Alisson Becker, who substituted the injured Ederson, who was sidelined because of a fractured eye socket. Brazil extended the advantage nine minutes following the break when Yan Couto collected Eder Militao's long throw-in, flicking the ball back into the box for Gabriel Martinelli to put it in alone.
The Mexicans were not finished, however, as Julian Quinones struck in the 73rd minute following Alexis Vega's excellent cross, then Guillermo Martinez Ayala equalized in the 92nd minute of injury time. However, four minutes later, prodigy Endrick clinched Brazil's win by heading in an inviting cross from team-mate Vinicius Jr, who was brought on as a substitute.
Endrick’s celebrations are so cold. 🥶 pic.twitter.com/fQhmiJYzu1
— TC (@totalcristiano) June 9, 2024
“I’m very grateful to God for another opportunity to score” : Endrick
The new Real Madrid signing spoke to the reporters after the game and thanked his manager as well as spoke about the team’s preparations. He said, “I’m very grateful to God for another opportunity to score for the national team. Thanks to the squad and Dorival’s excellent work. We trained well and I hope we can work even harder because the goal is to win Copa America.”
The nine-time champions will face the United States in another warm-up match on Wednesday prior to beginning their Copa America quest versus Costa Rica on June 24, Paraguay four days later, and Colombia on July 2. The quadrennial event will be contested across the United States of America beginning June 20 and ending July 14.