France defeated Brazil 2-1 in a friendly in the United States that could have served as a dry run for the 2026 World Cup finals.
Published March 26, 2026
In a World Cup warm-up match between the world’s top teams, France forward Kylian Mbappé showed no ill effects from his left knee injury and came through to score, giving France an early lead and a 2-1 victory over Brazil.
With a crowd of 66,215 strongly supporting Brazil, Mbappé and Hugo Ekitike gave France a 2-0 lead on Thursday on the same pitch where Norway will play Erling Haaland in the final group stage match of this summer’s World Cup. Bremer cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 78th minute.
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Despite a simmering feud between the city of Foxboro and World Cup organizers over about $8 million in security costs, the friendly went off without any notable problems. The two sides reached an agreement two weeks ago in which the organizing committee promised an advance payment and the town approved the necessary entertainment license.
It was expected to be the last hurdle in the world’s largest sporting event, held in this suburb of 20,000 between Boston and Providence, Rhode Island, which triples in size when the New England Patriots play. To meet FIFA requirements, a turf field was installed in place of the artificial turf used by the NFL’s Patriots and Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution.
It was the second-largest crowd to watch a soccer match at Gillette Stadium, after the 2007 friendly between Brazil and Mexico. It was packed with fans wearing Brazil’s yellow jerseys, and only a few French flags were waved to celebrate Mbappé’s goal. (The media dining room was more neutral, with madeleines, macarons, and eclairs side by side with Brazilian brigadeiros, pudims, and mousses de maracuja.)
Coach Joe Mazzula and players from the NBA’s Boston Celtics were also in attendance, and forward Jayson Tatum participated in the pregame coin toss with Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey.
Mbappe, a former Paris Saint-Germain and current Real Madrid star, sprained his left knee in December but played until January, when he was sidelined for about a month. He came on as a substitute in Real Madrid’s last two games, but started on Thursday.
Mbappé said on Monday that his injury was “really my fault.” (Reports that the team tested the wrong knee are false, Mbappe said Wednesday at a news conference in Foxboro.)
And in the 32nd minute, Ousmane Dembele showed it with a through ball that left no one between Mbappe and the goalkeeper. The 2018 World Cup champion and 2022 Golden Boot winner tapped in once to take the lead, before chipping it over the keeper to make it 1-0.
France took a 2-0 lead in the 65th minute when Ekitike, Liverpool’s top scorer this season, converted a pass from Michael Olise into the penalty area. Mbappe came on as a substitute shortly after.
France’s Dayot Upamecano was sent off in the 55th minute for knocking down a player in a clear path to goal, which was upgraded from yellow to red after a video review, but Bremer redirected Luis Enrique’s cross past French keeper Mike Maignan to reduce the gap to 2-1.
The game also featured a “cooling break” midway through the first half to allow players to rest and rehydrate, despite early spring New England temperatures in the mid-60s (15 degrees Celsius).
Following the extremely hot weather at last year’s Club World Cup, FIFA has announced that all matches at the 2026 World Cup will have breaks, regardless of pitch temperature.
If France and Brazil both advance through the group stages of the World Cup, the final will be the first time they will face each other in the tournament.
