Dembélé, ten-man France ease past Brazil in the US
Despite having a man sent off with more than half an hour to play, France notched a comfortable win over Brazil in Foxborough, Massachusetts in the first of two friendlies played in the United States over the current break. Catch up on the latest with our match recap
Dembélé sets up Mbappé's wonder strike
On a gray and chilly afternoon in suburban Massachusetts, Didier Deschamps' France began their preparations for the World Cup against Brazil. While Olympique Lyonnais forward Endrick would remain on the bench for O Selecão, reigning Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé was in the eleven for Les Bleus. From the off, though, it was Michael Olise who impressed most for Deschamps' side, regulalrly turning what was a makeshift Brazilian defence inside out.
The first good chance of the match for the French came on ten minutes when Olise delivered a free kick which found the head of Adrien Rabiot, but the midfielder couldn't get an effort on target. The Brazilians' best chance of the first half would come just before the half hour, as Gabriel Martinelli would wrap a shot around the left post. France would respond, though, with former AS Monaco midfielder Aurélien Tchouameni forcing Ederson into a diving save and Mbappé breaking the deadlock with a pinpoint lob (32'). From there, Brazil had a few more shots, but all were from distance and failed to test Mike Maignan, leaving the lead to France at the interval.
Dembélé x Mbappé, a familiar connection 🇫🇷✨ pic.twitter.com/A3J3Nx78ht
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) March 26, 2026
Despite sending off, Les Bleus remain resolute
Into the second half, Brazil continued to push , and Luiz Henrique would force Maignan innto a fine save (50') before it looked the game had turned as VAR turned what had been a yellow for Dayot Upamecano into a red, leaving France to play the match's final 35 minutes with ten men. However, despite being a man down it was once again a sublime chip from a former Ligue 1 McDonald's player -- Hugo Ekitiké -- which made the difference ten minutes after Upamecano had been sent off.
Brazil would eventually pull a goal back through Juventus defneder Bremer, but Carlo Ancelotti's team struggled to establish a rhythm and the matche would end 2-1, offering good evidence of France's defensive strength. Next up for Les Bleus will be a match in Washington, DC on Sunday against a Colombia side that includes Nantes' Deiver Machado and former Ligue 1 McDonald's players James Rodríguez, David Ospina and Juan Fernando Quintero.
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