Brazil could have been reduced to 10 men in the first half
Joe Gomez questioned Brazil’s ill-discipline after England’s 1-0 defeat to the five-time World Cup winners at Wembley.
A late goal from 17-year-old Endrick consigned England to their first defeat since the 2022 World Cup quarter-final to France and marked a disappointing start to a tournament year.
Lucas Paqueta could have been shown a second yellow card for several late challenges in the first half, and there were plenty of robust tackles throughout from both sides.
There were 30 fouls committed in the match in total, with Brazil guilty of making 19 of them to England’s 11, and Gomez was left aggrieved by the visitors’ poor discipline when speaking after making his first England appearance in four years.
“The number of fouls they gave away was, I’m sure, on the higher end of the scale,” he said.
“It just shows both teams wanted to win and didn’t treat it like a friendly. It’s an important time for the team, leading up to a major tournament, so that’s the way Gareth [Southgate] wants us to approach the game.
“It’s a massive fixture against a top team, so it was nice to be out there. It’s disappointing we didn’t get the win. The team played so well and dominated a lot of the game. They showed their quality with that chance.”
The Liverpool defender said of Brazil: “They’ve got well-established quality up front. They’re really good in and around the box, and with those combinations they showed how sharp they are. They finished the chance off to win the game, and those are the fine margins.
“They did well, but we have a lot of things to be positive about as well. We kept the ball well and had good possession. It’s an important game on Tuesday [against Belgium]. We want to gain momentum again.”
