Brazil attacker and soon-to-be Real Madrid man Endrick has broken an all-time international football goalscoring record with his goal in the Selecao's 1-0 win over England at Wembley.
The 17-year-old was named on the bench for his nation's clash with Gareth Southgate's side, as Raphinha, Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior and Lucas Paqueta formed the attacking quartet.
While fashioning the best chances of the contest, Brazil were noticeably lacking a focal point up front, and head coach Dorival Junior sent on Endrick for just his third senior appearance midway through the second half.
The teenager's introduction proved to be an inspired change from Dorival, who witnessed Andreas Pereira slip Vinicius Junior through on goal in the 80th minute, when Lewis Dunk's poor header fell at the feet of the Fulham playmaker.
Jordan Pickford came out and managed to thwart Vinicius, but he only succeeded in deflecting the ball into the path of Endrick, who had burst forward alongside Vinicius and tapped home into an empty net for his maiden senior Brazil goal.
Brazil lead at Wembley, and it's the teenager Endrick who's scored 🫣#ThreeLions | #ENGBRA | @AskNationwide pic.twitter.com/rNSWVYyFes
— Channel 4 Sport (@C4Sport) March 23, 2024
Despite fierce England protestations over an alleged offside offence, Endrick's goal was allowed to stand following a VAR review, and the 2006-born jewel etched his name into the history books with his winning goal in London.
Aged just 17 years and 246 days old, Endrick's close-range strike saw the teenager become the youngest-ever male player to score a senior international or club goal at Wembley Stadium.
In addition, the Palmeiras attacker is also the youngest man to score a senior goal for Brazil in the 21st century, just over three months before he officially joins La Liga leaders Real Madrid.
Already boasting 18 strikes in 66 matches for Palmeiras, Endrick will complete a €45m (£38.8m) switch to the Bernabeu when he turns 18 on July 21, and his deal is expected to run until 2027 with an option to extend until 2030.
Endrick's second-half winner at Wembley also saw Brazil snap a dismal three-game losing run from the end of 2023 - all of which came in World Cup qualifying matches - in Dorival's first game as head coach.
© Reuters
The five-time World Cup winners handed starts to four defensive debutants on Saturday, as Bento began in goal while Wendell, Lucas Beraldo and Fabricio Bruno were all given the nod in the backline.
Despite their lack of international experience, Brazil's backline effectively marshalled an England attack without Harry Kane or Bukayo Saka, conceding just three efforts on target in the 90 minutes.
The Selecao now make the trip to Endrick's future home - the Bernabeu - on Tuesday evening, facing Spain in another blockbuster friendly as Dorival bids to prolong his perfect start in the hotseat.
Meanwhile, England - who lost Kyle Walker to a first-half injury on Saturday - are also back in action in three days time, when they welcome Belgium to Wembley.
Ben Knapton
