Both nations were facing off in a showpiece friendly at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, representing one of their last chances for experimentation ahead of this summer’s tournament, and the two managers fielded full-strength line-ups as they aimed to fine-tune their respective sides.
Raphinha had an early sighter after being found via a long ball over the top of the French defence, but the Barcelona forward sent his strike flying over the bar.
The game was being played at a frantic pace, with Brazil’s four attackers causing all sorts of trouble to Les Bleus’ defence. Committing so many players forward also left the Selecao open, as France began to threaten in an end-to-end encounter.
Chances were arriving at either end as Gabriel Martinelli flashed an effort a whisker wide of the left post from the edge of the box.
The Frenchmen then made their opponents pay as they broke the deadlock just after the half-hour mark. Ousmane Dembele played a defence-splitting pass to send Kylian Mbappe racing through on goal, and the Real Madrid forward showed great composure before producing an exquisite chip over the head of Ederson.
There were no signs of this being a friendly encounter as both sides showed great determination to win in front of a packed stadium.
Brazil came close to levelling the scoreline within minutes of the restart when Matheus Cunha picked out Martinelli in the box, but his effort was blocked, shortly before Luiz Henrique cut inside from the right and unleashed a powerful effort that was brilliantly saved by Mike Maignan.
Controversy then arose when Henrique was brought down by Dayot Upamecano just outside the box after racing through on goal. After initially giving a yellow to the Bayern defender, referee Guido Gonzalez Jr consulted his pitchside monitor and upgraded the card to a red.
It was one-way traffic into the French box following Upamecano’s dismissal, but the Brazilians were stung once again via a swift attacking move when Michael Olise broke forward and slipped in Hugo Ekitike, who also produced a deft finish over Ederson.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men pulled a goal back with just under a quarter-hour remaining as Bremer popped up in the box to steer home Henrique’s miscued ball in the box.
But despite a host of changes from Brazil’s manager, the Selecao didn’t have enough to earn a draw. Ancelotti will require more from his players in their three remaining friendlies before the WC begins, while French boss Didier Deschamps will undoubtedly be pleased with how his side performed, especially after going down to 10 men.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Kylian Mbappe (France)