Brazil’s new star born

Teen prodigy saves Selecao in friendly against England

Brazil’s new boss Dorival Junior started his bid to revive the five-time world champions with a 1-0 win against England as teenage sensation Endrick bagged his first international goal in Sunday’s friendly at Wembley.

Coming off their worst period for more than 60 years, Brazil hopes Dorival can trigger a revival in time to challenge for the 2026 World Cup.

This was a first significant step in the right direction for the Selecao, who marked their manager’s debut with victory against an England side expected to make a strong challenge to win Euro 2024.

On a cathartic evening for Brazil after its wretched 2023, it was fitting the highly rated Endrick (pictured) bagged Brazil’s late winner.

The Palmeiras forward, due to join Real Madrid in July, has been tipped to succeed Neymar as Brazil’s latest superstar and his match-winning cameo appearance off the bench was a suitable coming-of-age moment in his third appearance.

Endrick stole the spotlight in the 80th minute when the teenager tapped in, defying

England’s appeals for offside after Vinicius Junior’s shot was saved by Jordan Pickford.

Aged 17 years and 246 days, Endrick is the youngest senior international goalscorer at Wembley.

He is also the youngest player to score for Brazil since Ronaldo in 1994. “Time will tell how far he can go. We have to be calm and patient with him,” Dorival said.

Endrick’s emergence is a breath of fresh air for Brazil after an unusually stale period for the Selecao.

Snubbed by

Real

Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti and frustrated by the failings of two caretaker managers, Dorival has been tasked with ensuring Brazil qualifies for the World Cup.

The 61-year-old left Sao Paulo to take charge of Brazil in January, moving into world football’s most scrutinised job at a time when his country had just finished a calendar year with more defeats (five) than wins (three) for the first time since 1963. Beaten in three consecutive World Cup qualifiers for the first time ever, Brazil faces a nervous fight to qualify for the 2026 tournament. England boss Gareth Southgate was impressed with the new Brazil, saying: “The difference was one moment of ruthlessness. “In the attacking third they have players of the very highest quality. The midfield three are all technical players.”