French and Brazilian stars are in focus as former world champions meet in a glamour friendly in Boston, US, ahead of the World Cup.
Brazil and France, ranked fifth and third in the world, face off in the United States on Thursday as both continue preparations for the tournament less than three months away. The match kicks off at 20:00 GMT at Gillette Stadium near Boston, Massachusetts — the home of NFL side the New England Patriots. It is the first meeting between the teams in 11 years; Brazil came from behind to win 3-1 in a friendly at the Stade de France in March 2015 (goals from Oscar, Neymar and Luiz Gustavo).
Brazil’s form and squad
Brazil struggled in South American qualifying, finishing fifth after six defeats in 18 games. The country has turned to Carlo Ancelotti as coach, hoping he can guide them to a record-extending sixth World Cup and first since 2002. After the Boston game, Brazil travel to Orlando for a friendly against Croatia on March 31 — the side that eliminated them in the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals.
Neymar remains absent from the squad and has not played for Brazil since October 2023. Ancelotti described the issue as physical rather than technical: “With the ball, he is great, but he needs to improve physically,” saying Neymar is not yet at “100 percent” and must keep working to reach full fitness.
Key Brazilians for the match include Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior, while other likely World Cup starters — goalkeeper Alisson Becker, centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes and midfielder Bruno Guimaraes — are not involved here. Vinicius, who has enjoyed club success but only eight goals in 45 appearances for Brazil, said he feels more at ease and wants to translate his club form to the national team: “I feel more at ease, I’m happier; and when I’m happier, everyone around me is happier and more confident too… I want to bring great pride to our country and a lot of joy to our entire nation.” Also in the squad is 19-year-old Rayan, an uncapped winger who has impressed for Bournemouth since joining from Vasco da Gama.
France and Mbappe
France’s focus is on captain Kylian Mbappe. The 27-year-old returned to Real Madrid last week after a knee injury and was keen to join the France squad. There had been concern over his fitness, but Mbappe said the rehab is behind him and he aimed to play during the international break and be decisive again: “It is behind me. I was following a protocol, and I wanted to start playing again gradually. I hope to be able to play during this international break and to start being decisive again.”
History and World Cup prospects
Their last competitive meeting was at the 2006 World Cup, when France beat Brazil 1-0 in the quarterfinals courtesy of a Thierry Henry goal and a standout performance by Zinedine Zidane. If both teams top their groups at the upcoming World Cup as expected, they would not meet until the final. Thursday’s friendly in Boston will offer an early gauge of where each side stands ahead of June-July’s tournament.