FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) 鈥� The traffic on the way to France’s World Cup tuneup against Brazil was a problem. Kylian Mbapp茅’s knee was not.
The former Paris Saint-Germain and current Real Madrid star showed no ill effects from on Thursday when he broke free for a goal to give France an early lead on its way to a 2-1 victory in a friendly between two of the world鈥檚 top teams.
Mbapp茅 missed almost a month with a left knee sprain for Real Madrid before coming on as a substitute in the last two matches. France coach Didier Deschamps started Mbapp茅 but had him on a limit of about an hour; he came off for a substitute in the 65th minute.
鈥淗e has a lot of desire, a lot of soreness in his legs,鈥� Dechamps said. 鈥淏eyond that 鈥� the quality to make to make a difference, he鈥檚 always had.鈥�
With a crowd of 66,215 heavily favoring Brazil, Mbapp茅 and Hugo Ekitike gave France a 2-0 lead on the same pitch where they will play their final group stage game of this summer’s World Cup, against Norway and Erling Haaland. Bremer cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 78th minute.
The friendly went off without any major hiccups despite the simmering feud between the town of Foxborough and World Cup organizers over almost $8 million in security costs. The sides reached in which the organizing committee promised to make the payment in advance and the town approved the necessary entertainment license.
That was expected to be the last remaining obstacle to the world’s biggest sporting event arriving in this 20,000-person suburb tucked between Boston and Providence, Rhode Island, that swells to three times its size for New England Patriots games. To accommodate FIFA requirements, a grass field has replaced the artificial turf that had been used for the NFL鈥檚 Patriots and the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer.
鈥淕ood stadium. Good pitch. It was all OK to play good football,鈥� Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said. 鈥淭he atmosphere in the stadium was good 鈥� a lot of Brazilian supporters. Everything was fine, apart from the result.鈥�
Deschamps said the biggest problem was the travel from Boston, about 25 miles away but part of it on a four-lane road with stoplights and tens of thousands of fans trying to get to the game.
鈥淚 am convinced that everything will be fine,鈥� Deschamps said. 鈥淭he most difficult thing are the trips that take a lot of time. … One hour and 15 minutes before a game is not easy.鈥�
The crowd was the second-largest to watch a soccer match at Gillette Stadium, behind only a 2007 friendly between Brazil and Mexico. It was speckled with fans in Brazilian yellow kits, with just a few French flags waving to celebrate Mbapp茅’s goal. (The media dining room was more neutral, with madeleines, macarons and eclairs alongside Brazilian brigadeiro, pudim and mousse deo maracuja.)
Also in the house were coach Joe Mazzulla and players from the NBA鈥檚 Boston Celtics, with forward Jayson Tatum taking part in the pregame coin toss alongside Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey.
The 2018 World Cup champion and 2022 Golden Boot winner, Mbapp茅 sprained his left knee in December but played through January before sitting out almost a month. He said on Monday that his injury was 鈥渢ruly behind me.鈥� (Reports that said the team examined the wrong knee were false, Mbapp茅 said at a news conference in Foxborough on Wednesday.)
And he showed it in the 32nd minute when Ousmane Demb茅l茅 delivered a through ball that left no one between the No. 2 scorer in French soccer history and the goalkeeper. Mbapp茅 tapped it ahead once before chipping it over the keeper to make it 1-0.
France took a 2-0 lead in the 65th minute when Ekitike, Liverpool鈥檚 top scorer this season, converted a pass from Michael Olise in the penalty area. Mbapp茅 left for a substitute immediately afterward.
After France’s Dayot Upamecano was sent off in the 55th minute for taking down a player with a clear path to the goal, a card that was upgraded from yellow to red on video review, Brazil cut the deficit to 2-1 when Bremer redirected a cross from Luiz Henrique past France keeper Mike Maignan.
The game also featured a mid-half 鈥渃ooling break鈥� that enabled players to rest and hydrate 鈥� even though the temperature in early spring New England was in the mid-60s Fahrenheit (15 Celsius). After a heat wave during last year鈥檚 Club World Cup, FIFA announced that all games in the 2026 World Cup would , regardless of the temperature on the pitch.
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Brazil will play Croatia on Tuesday in Orlando, Florida, their first matchup since the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals.
鈥淭here are no friendlies for us,” defender Leo Pereira said. “Every game is a big game, and we have to play it as if it was a World Cup final.鈥�
France will play Colombia in Landover, Maryland, on Sunday.
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