Teenagers Lamine Yamal and Endrick took the spotlight as Brazil drew 3-3 with Spain on Tuesday in the “One Skin” international friendly that was set up to highlight the fight against racism after a series of insults aimed at the Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior.
Vinícius was relatively quiet in a match in which Brazil equalized with a penalty converted by Lucas Paquetá deep into stoppage time after Rodri's spot-kick in the 87th had put Spain ahead.
Brazil had rallied from two goals down with an equalizer scored by Vinícius' future Madrid teammate Endrick, the 17-year-old Palmeiras player who had made his scoring debut with Brazil just three days previous.
The Spanish lineup was led by 16-year-old Barcelona forward Yamal, who helped set up three goals and received a standing ovation from the crowd at Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium when he was substituted near the end of the match.
“Yamal and Endrick are players who have a chance to be stars at the 2026 World Cup,” Brazil coach Dorival Júnior said. “They both play at a very high level.”
The international friendly came a day after Vinícius broke down in tears while talking about the continued racist insults that he is subjected to in Spain, saying he was losing his desire to keep playing but pledged to continue his fight against racism.
Bellingham strikes Jude Bellingham struck in stoppage time to earn an impressive England a 2-2 Wembley draw with Belgium after a Youri Tielemans double had threatened a smash-and-grab victory in an entertaining friendly.
Tielemans put the visitors ahead after 11 minutes with Ivan Toney equalising with a penalty soon after, before Tielemans headed Belgium into a 2-1 halftime lead.
It was harsh on England, who looked unrecognisable in approach from the side beaten by Brazil on Saturday, and they fully deserved their last-gasp equaliser.
"I knew the rubbish we would've got if we had lost two games on the bounce," Bellingham said.
"We should be winning with all the chances we've made but these are two games that will stand us in good stead. I know people will be negative but we have to take the positives.
"I'm sure the manager will be happy with how we played. You're never happy with a loss or a draw but we have to be happy with how we played."
Germany excel
Niclas Fuellkrug headed in an 85th minute goal to give Euro 2024 hosts Germany a 2-1 comeback victory over Netherlands in their international friendly and make it two victories from two matches in the past four days.
The result gave the Germans another big shot of confidence following Saturday's 2-0 win against France, as they look to field a battle-worthy team for the tournament on home soil after years of disappointing international performances.
France struggle
Looking to bounce back after a loss to Germany, France laboured to a 3-2 win over Chile in a friendly game that produced only a few highlights.
The individual brilliance of Randal Kolo Muani, who scored a goal and delivered a superb assist for Olivier Giroud, was enough to make the difference.
AP/PTI, Reuters
