The Mexico Men's National Team looked as if it was going to walk away from Texas with an historic 2-2 draw with Brazil, coming back from two goals down to tie the score.
But El Tri didn't count on the world's best player and Brazil's rising star having their say.
Mexico was tied with Brazil for all of two minutes before substitutes Vinicius Jr and Endrick combined for a header goal deep in second-half stoppage time that gave Brazil a 3-2 win over Mexico in College Station, Texas. The match was played in front of 85,259 fans mostly cheering for Mexico who were ecstatic only to suffer the agony of defeat late in the match.
Brazil vs. Mexico final score
| Score | Goal scorers | |
| Mexico | 2 | Quinones (73'), Martinez (90') |
| Brazil | 3 | Pereira ('5), Martinelli (54'), Endrick (90') |
Vinicius Jr., fresh off winning his second UEFA Champions League title, took on two Mexican defenders and cut inside to deliver a rising cross towards the far post. With two defenders on Vinicius Jr., that left open space in the box and Endrick found it before finishing with a flick of his head past Mexican goalkeeper Julio Gonzalez. It's the third-straight game that the 17-year-old striker has scored for Brazil.
Brazil went up early in the match as Savinho found Andreas Pereira in the box and he patiently waited for all the Mexico defenders to go to ground before firing home. And again in the second half down the right wing, Yan Couto delivered a great pass to Gabriel Martinelli who placed it in the goal.
But Mexico kept pushing and a Brazil turnover turned into a goal by Quinones from Vega. Then, soon after coming in, Guillermo Martinez won a header off a corner by a fellow substitute, Jordy Cortizo, and then Martinez was fastest to the rebound and smashed it home.
Mexico back to the drawing board?
El Tri coach Jaime Lozano tried a new lineup that included his star - Edson Alvarez - playing as a center back in the four-man backline. The idea was simple. Take advantage of Alvarez's excellent ball-winning skills and use him along with Johan Vasquez to build out from the back.
Unfortunately for Lozano, Mexico still gave up 3 goals that a team at the highest level would be expected to stop. Just like against Uruguay, Mexico at times fell asleep defensively and were caught out. It didn't matter whether it was Alvarez or former Mexico stalwart Rafa Marquez back there, Brazil was quicker to the ball and with the pass.
Perhaps the worst moment was leaving Endrick unmarked for the game-winning goal. Whether that was Luis Romo who should have come back from midfield to mark him or not, it was still emblematic of the woes Mexico's backline is facing against a top-ten team in the world.
Watch out world – Endrick is here
Believe the hype - Endrick is for real.
The 17-year-old future Real Madrid player - yes, he's already agreed to move to Spain when he turns 18 - came on in the 61st minute and had an instant impact, taking on the Mexico backline within seconds and nearly creating a chance that fizzed through the box.
As Mexico worked to get itself back in the game and eventually tied it, Endrick stayed alive in the game and made the perfect run into the box that left him unmarked for what would be the game-winning goal. The cross was delivered by his future Real Madrid teammate, Vinicius Jr. After the game, the 5-foot-8-inch striker joked "... people say I'm too small to be a No. 9, but it's not a question of being small, it's the positioning."
It's Endrick's third straight game for Brazil, including scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 win over England at Wembley Stadium. The future of Brazil - and Real Madrid - is bright.
Fans in Texas showed up and showed out
Soccer fans set a Mexico friendly record on Saturday evening in College Station, even if it wasn't the only record event organizers were going for.
With 85,249 fans in attendance, it became the highest-attended Mexico friendly match to take place within the state of Texas and was the third-highest attendance overall.
It was also the first international friendly at Kyle Field, Texas A&M's college football stadium that normally can fit more than 100,000 fans packed to the gills for football under the lights. This time, it was the other futbol, but fans certainly got their money's worth and you wonder if the university will look to host more international friendlies in the future.
The U.S.-based record for attendance at a soccer game is 109,318 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Manchester United beat Real Madrid, 3-1, in 2014.
Brazil vs. Mexico Final Stats
| Brazil | Stat | Mexico |
| 9 | Shots | 13 |
| 5 | Shots on target | 4 |
| 56% | Possession | 44% |
| 519 | Passes | 398 |
| 1 | Corners | 9 |
| 14 | Fouls | 13 |
| 3 | Yellow cards | 0 |
| 0 | Offsides | 2 |
Starting lineups:
Brazil (4-3-3, right to left): Alisson (GK) — Couto, Militao, Bremer, Arana — Douglas Luiz, Ederson, Pereira — Savinho, Evanilson, Martinelli
Mexico (4-3-3 right to left): Gonzalez (GK) — Reyes, Alvarez, Vasquez, Arteaga — Rodriguez, Romo, Chavez — Antuna, Gimenez, Quinones
Brazil vs. Mexico final result, highlights
Full time: Brazil 3, Mexico 2
In dramatic circumstances, Brazil comes away with a 3-2 win to kick off their Copa America preparations, and Mexico suffers its second-consecutive defeat to a South American side. El Tri were dominant at times but as the U.S. saw earlier in the day, Brazil was clinical on the counter attack and made the plays necessary to score goals under pressure and win tight games.
Having spent so much mental and emotional energy coming back from a two-goal deficit, only to give it up again in second half stoppage time, Mexico will now have to pick itself up off the floor for its first Copa America friendly match.
96th min: GOOOOAAAALL BRAZIL! Vinicius Jr. has played the pass that may have just won this for Brazil. And it's the 17-year-old Endrick who is unmarked in the box and he flicks a ball past Gonzalez into the corner. Brazil lead, 3-2. What a turn of events!
93rd min: GOOOOAAAALLL MEXICO!!! The comeback is complete! Off a corner kick, Cortizo delivers a terrific corner that's headed down by Martinez and goes off the post, possibly with a touch from Allison as well. Martinez, who just came on the field, is quickest to the rebound and from a tight angle, he beats Allison and ripples the net to tie the score at 2-2.
90+ min: We are into the first of eight minutes of extra time. Vini Jr. could have had a great day but he dribbled into the box with one too many step overs and the ball was cleared away by Mexico.
89th min: The game is paused again, this time due to a pitch invader. We also have more changes.
Brazil: Joao Gomez comes on for Ederson in central midfield.
Mexico: Guillermo Martinez and Cesar Huerta enter for Quinones and Gimenez.
86th min: Chance for Brazil! First, Vini Jr. has a nice nutmeg on a Mexican defender before he is dispossessed, but Brazil gets the ball right back and sets up a chance for Pepe but he puts it wide.
83rd min: Vini Jr. shakes left and right, dancing to try and buy a half yard and Pineda decks him out of bounds. No call. Mexico throw-in.
Cortizo is on for Antuna for Mexico.
78th min: Water break! The El Tri crowd is back in the game after Quinones goal.
75th min: We may not have 100,000 fans, but a record was broken today. With 85,249 fans in attendance, this is the biggest crowd to watch a Mexico friendly match in the state of Texas.
Tonight's official attendance at Kyle Field for the international friendly between Mexico and Brazil: 85,249
— 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕤 𝕃. 𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕟 (@Travis_L_Brown) June 9, 2024
Third largest crowd ever for MEXTOUR game. Largest crowd in state of Texas. Two larger crowds were in California.
74th min: Brazil doing something only they can do in response to a goal. Bring Vinicius Jr. off the bench. He and Bruno Guimaraes enter in place of Savinho and Douglas Luiz.
73rd min: GOAL MEXICO! An attack down the right on after a turnover at midfield leads to a cross into the center and Quinones slides and pokes it in ahead of Couto and before Allison can get to it. It's now 2-1, Brazil over Mexico. Huge moment midway through the second half.
68th min: No hay falta! A turnover at midfield leads to a breakaway. Gimenez receives the ball on the right and goes down as he gets into the box, but the referee waves it away.
Seconds later, Mexico does win a free kick just on the edge of the box. But the free kick is deflected out for a corner kick.
64th min: Endrick, wearing the famous No. 9 of Brazil (not as famous as the No. 10 of course), makes a great dribble into the box and inadvertently sends a ball across the box after Vasquez tries to clear it but it deflects off Endrick's shin and into space. But no Brazilian attacker could latch on to it.
62nd min: Subs coming in for both teams.
Brazil: The next star of the Canarinha is on, Endrick, who is set to move to Real Madrid in a year's time when he turns 18. Also on are Lucas Paqueta and Pepe. Evanilson, Martinelli, and Pereira all make way.
Mexico: Orbelin Pineda is on for Charly Rodriguez and Alexis Vega comes on for Luis Chavez.
59th min: The game has been paused after the referee has heard "La Grita", the homophobic chant that historically was used by Mexican fans at games. The FMF and CONCACAF are trying to get fans to stop by pausing the game and even threatening to end games early if it continues.
57th min: Rodriguez tries a switch to the left into the box and Quinones is able to control the ball, but he can't keep it from going over the end line as Couto keeps Quinones from advancing on goal. Three subs getting ready to come in for Brazil.
54th min: GOAL BRAZIL! Just like that, Brazil takes a 2-0 lead. Couto quickly advances past Arteaga and Vasquez and plays a quick ball on the ground into the middle, that Martinelli easily slots home. Mexico fell asleep defensively there and it's a huge hill to climb now for El Tri.
49th min: Rodriguez finds space down the right wing and his shot/cross is directed behind by Militao for a corner kick. Brazil clears the ensuing corner kick easily though, as it failed to beat the first defender at the near post.
2nd Half Kickoff: We are underway for the second half!
Halftime: Upon watching Brazil's opening goal again, I realized Savinho's late first half dribble was almost a carbon-copy of the goal, only for Mexico to better defend it this time. First time, Reyes was late to move over and deny Pereira receiving the ball, and it resulted in a goal.
Halftime: Brazil has a 1-0 lead at the break over Mexico but you wouldn't know it based on how the half ended. Mexico dominated the last 15-plus minutes and while they didn't have many (if any, late) chances on goal, it feels like it's only a matter of time. I'm not sure how happy Brazil is either, considering they struggled to hold on to the ball once Mexico got their second wind and other than the brilliant attack early, Brazil hasn't done much in their attack. Maybe that's by plan. Maybe that's what Mexico is doing to them in terms of their gameplan.
45+ min: Corner kick for Mexico late in the first half. Vasquez makes contact on the header but it deflects and falls to the ground in the middle of the box before Brazil can clear. And that's the end of action.
45+ min: Couto dribbles in on goal and lays it off for Savio, but Romo helps win it back for El Tri and launches one forward toward Gimenez. It appears Militao controlled it with his arm, but Gimenez was offside.
44th min: A rare foray forward for Brazil thanks to great dribbling from Savinho, but the ball eventually is shepherded out of play by Reyes.
42nd min: Chance! For Mexico. A turnover gives Gimenez a chance to run at goal on Bremer, Gimenez takes a strike but it's deflected behind for a corner kick.
40th min: Mexico is making Brazil cover as much space as possible when in possession, passing the ball from one sideline to the next. We'll see whether it opens up space in the middle.
37th min: Rodriguez's hard running and a quick tackle nearly creates a chance on goal for Gimenez but the ball moves too quickly for him and Brazil clears.
At the other end, Douglas Luiz finds himself with plenty of space from 30 yards out but his shot is put way over the bar. He had too much time to think about it.
36th min: Here's what it looks like from the press box at Kyle Field.
Kyle Field has filled out nicely for the Mexico-Brazil international soccer match. #MexTour pic.twitter.com/WeW3QDrbIK
— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) June 9, 2024
35th min: Play has resumed!
31st min: Tackles are flying in from Mexico when they lose the ball to try and win it back. Brazil has been pushed back into its own half and has only had the ball in their own area.
Water break!
29th min: It's taken a while but Mexico is finally playing as their fans expect, controlling the ball and the rhythm of the possession,
27th min: Yan Couto is shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle of Rodriguez.
22nd min: Chance! Charly Rodriguez nearly capitalizes on a mistake by Allison playing out from the back but his half-volley is all wrong and out for a goal kick.
20th min: Big Save Allison! Arteaga gets the ball at the top of the box after the corner kick is initially cleared and he fires a low strike with his left, but Allison palms it away. Best chance of the night for Mexico.
20th min: Quinones finally gets out in space on a counter-attack. He dribbles down Couto and cuts inside, tries a curling effort and it deflects off Brazil out for a corner kick.
18th min: Brazil is dominating possession right now, and a quick pass down the right leads to a great chance. Yan Couto has time and space down the right side of the box, dribbles to the line and crosses into the middle but it fizzes through the box and no Brazilian teammate attacks the ball.
11th min: Antuna and Chavez combine for a 1-2 down the right side and into the box, and Bremer steps in and smashes it out for a throw-in. Mexico has the speed to beat the Brazil backline, just have to execute properly the rest of the match.
8th min: Mexico tries for a quick response but Rodriguez's left-footed effort goes well over the bar. At the other end, Martinelli is sent through down the left wing and he tries to cross into the middle but it's knocked out for a corner kick by Alvarez.
5th min: GOAL BRAZIL! Wow, just like that, Andreas Pereira makes a run forward from midfield, controls the ball into the box and waits for the right moment before finishing easily past Gonzales. Another embarrassing moment for CONCACAF defenses on the day.
5th min: Both teams are testing out each other, but the direct attacks were cleared easily by the defense.
1st half kickoff: We are underway from Kyle Field in the heart of Texas!
5 mins until kickoff: Players are out and it's national anthem time!
15 mins until kickoff: Kyle Stadium is filling up nicely. We'll see how close we get to a record, or even 100,000 fans.
30 mins until kickoff: Some lineup notes.
Mexico: Coach Jaime Lozano is doubling down on building out from the back, this time putting star holding midfielder Edson Alvarez in the middle of a back four. Or it could look like a back 3 in possession with Alvarez just in front. Either way, he's trying to make something happen that Alvarez struggles with. We'll see how it turns out. Also - the choice to go with Gonzalez over Rangel in goal, is this what Lozano is thinking for Copa America? Especially after Rangel picked the ball out of his own goal four times?
Brazil: Dorival Jr. is really taking a look at the fringe players tonight. Savinho and Evanilson are both young and inexperienced at this level, but they're the future of the Brazilian national team strike force heading towards the 2026 World Cup. Additionally, Atalanta midfielder Ederson is in line to win his first cap.
45 mins until kickoff: Here's Mexico's Starting 11.
Gonzalez (GK) — Reyes, Alvarez, Vasquez, Arteaga — Rodriguez, Romo, Chavez — Antuna, Gimenez, Quinones
Juntos. En familia. 🇲🇽
— Selección Nacional (@miseleccionmx) June 9, 2024
Este es el XI inicial para enfrentar a 🇧🇷!
¡CON EL 🫀, MÉXICO! ¡VAMOS!@adidasMX pic.twitter.com/2uJ9GRSmSv
45 mins until kickoff: Lineups are out! First up, Brazil.
Allison (GK) — Couto, Militao, Bremer, Arana — Douglas Luiz, Ederson, Pereira — Savinho, Evanilson, Martinelli
O Brasil está escalado para o amistoso contra o México!
— Futebol Diário (@diadefutebolbr) June 9, 2024
O goleiro Alisson usará a camisa 110 em homenagem ao aniversário de 110 anos da CBF. pic.twitter.com/xRHZOSbVvr
1 hour until kickoff: From that aforementioned Olympics game, Gabriel Martinelli, Bruno Guimarães, and Douglas Luiz all played for Brazil, while for Mexico, Johan Vasquez, Cesar Montes, Luis Romo, Alexis Vega, and Uriel Antuna all featured.
1 hour, 15 mins until kickoff: There is a little history here between these two sides. The senior national teams haven't played each other since 2018, when Brazil knocked Mexico out of the 2018 World Cup in the Round of 16 with a 2-0 win. Additionally, at the 2020 Summer Olympics (played in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Brazil beat Mexico, 4-1, on penalty kicks in the semifinals after a scoreless draw following 120 minutes of action.
1 hour, 30 mins to kickoff: The event organizers for this match (including Soccer United Marketing) were hoping for more than 100,000 fans to attend. As of Friday, more than 70,000 tickets were reportedly sold. The U.S. record for a Mexico friendly match is reportedly more than 90,000 fans in attendance at the Rose Bowl in 2010 for a game against New Zealand.
1 hour, 45 mins to kickoff: The FMF (Mexican Football Federation) announced this week that Luis Angel Malagon, the expected starting goalkeeper for El Tri at Copa America, would have to withdraw from the squad with an injury. His replacement, Carlos Acevedo, goalkeeper and captain of Santos Laguna, arrived in Texas today to join El Tri as part of their preparations for the tournament.
¡Bienvenido, @AcevedoCarlos9! 💚
— Selección Nacional (@miseleccionmx) June 8, 2024
¡A dar todo por 🇲🇽! pic.twitter.com/uXIhKYYSb5
2 hours to kickoff: Welcome to The Sporting News' coverage of this huge international friendly in Texas as Brazil take on Mexico. A bumper crowd is expected for this one! Stay with us as we bring you all the buildup and action from this Copa America tuneup.
🔴 What an incredible day to play in red 😎
— Mexican National Team (@miseleccionmxEN) June 8, 2024
Too much elegance 🤌#MEXTOUR #ProyecciónTricolor pic.twitter.com/A5MgO7VXmP