Southgate pleased with England experiment despite Brazil loss

A 1-0 loss to Brazil on Saturday did not dampen England coach Gareth Southgate's spirits as he assessed a few newcomers to his team with an eye on who will make his Euro 2024 squad.

An injury-hit Brazil side won the game thanks to their 17-year-old striker Endrick, who scored in the 80th-minute after coming on as a substitute.

It was an even game, the England manager suggested in a press conference, as he made changes to his side with the upcoming European Championship in Germany in mind.

“I'm not down on the performance of the team,” the 53-year-old coach said. “The difference in the end was one moment, really... a couple of mistakes decided the game.”

England were missing some key players at Wembley, including injured captain Harry Kane who will also sit out their next friendly against Belgium on Tuesday.

Generally pleased with the performance of his players, Southgate praised the debuts of Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo and Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon.

Though Ollie Watkins did not have a clear cut chance on goal, Southgate said he was happy with the Aston Villa striker's contribution.

“We needed to know where we might head if we didn't have Harry [Kane] for a big match. It was a good experiment,” Southgate said.

Bayern Munich striker Kane travelled to England last weekend to join up with the national team to be treated for an ankle injury he had suffered in a 5-2 Bundesliga win at Darmstadt.

Brazil coach Dorival Junior said the victory in his first match in charge represented only an initial step towards turning around the dip in form of the five-time World Cup winners.

Brazil are sixth in their South American qualifying group for the 2026 World Cup after a slump in form that cost Fernando Diniz his job as manager this year.

“It’s a really special moment, for sure,” Dorival said. “On only a few occasions has a Brazil side won in England, which must say something about us. But we must not lose sight of the fact that this is just the start of our work.”

Former Sao Paulo coach Dorival, who replaced Diniz, has had to grapple with a spate of injuries to key players and he handed debuts to five members of his starting 11 against England.

“I have a lot of trust in these boys,” he said. “I am hoping for a lot more from this team, but I think this shows what we are capable of going forward.”

Endrick became the youngest male player to score in a senior international match at Wembley.

“If he keeps up the attitude he has shown up to now, he will be a very important name in Brazilian football and world football,” Dorival said, asked about the teenage prodigy who is due to join Real Madrid from Palmeiras in July.

He said he opted to bring Endrick off the bench rather than the more experienced Richarlison because the Tottenham Hotspur player was still recovering his form after an injury.

The next test for Dorival's team will come on Tuesday when Brazil face Spain in Madrid. 

Reuters