Raphinha, Endrick and Vinicius save Brazil from an "embarrassment"

That Brazil has gone years without being the powerhouse it once was is obvious. They are coming off a round-of-16 exit from the World Cup for the first time since 1990. Now, the fact that Australia has made life so difficult for them on two occasions in just a matter of days only keeps raising the level of concern. Last Friday, Rayan rescued a draw in stoppage time... and today it was Raphinha, Endrick and Vinicius who were responsible for fueling the comeback against the "Socceroos" to avoid what would have been an "embarrassment."

"For us, a World Cup match and a friendly against Australia are the same. We represent the greatest national team in history," emphasized Carlo Ancelotti before the match, having made as many as seven changes compared to the previous game: only Bruno and Danilo in midfield, Vinicius on the left, and Raphinha repeated, who, as Flick has been doing at Barcelona , played as a "9" while wearing the captain's armband.

Brazil came out looking very different from the side they had shown in Townsville days earlier and, before the first five minutes of the match had elapsed, they managed to take the lead. They moved forward quickly, Vanderson appeared on the right edge of the box and, although his first touch popped up, he unleashed a shot straight into the top corner.

As soon as play resumed, Patrick Beach had to make a double save from Raphinha . Brazil was inspired when it came to drawing pressure and playing vertically once the first line had been beaten. Only Vinicius , whose touch ran too far when he was already bearing down on the Troyes goalkeeper, seemed to be a "notch" below.

Within four minutes, however, Brazil collapsed. In the 28th minute, Circati punished a mistaken move out by Otávio to level the match and, in the 32nd minute, Metcalfe turned the score around. He received the ball at the top of the box, noticed that no one stepped out to block his shot, Vinicius was also late in coming to help... and he fired a powerful effort inside the near post.

The match had completely changed direction. The intensity disappeared from Brazil and Australia , which at times took control of the ball, began to win every duel. However, after making a great block on a shot by Vinicius , Souttar committed a penalty on Danilo that Raphinha took it upon himself to convert before the end of the first half.

It was the first goal for the Barcelona forward since the arrival of Ancelotti , who replaced him at halftime due to muscle discomfort. His place was taken by Endrick , who came on to shake up the match. In fact, after being involved in a small scuffle with Souttar himself, he was the man tasked with setting up the comeback goal. He laid it off near the center circle, burst into the box, received it from Vinicius ... and pulled it back for Bruno to tap in in the 69th minute.

Endrick himself had up to two more chances to put the result beyond doubt. It was Vinicius, however, who produced a move reminiscent of the old days to seal the win. He nutmegged Jason Geria, who ended up conceding a penalty, and with Raphinha off the pitch, he was the one tasked with converting the spot kick. At times, the image was worrying again. But, at least, Brazil avoided an "embarrassment".