Kylian Mbappé scores, France defeats Brazil in friendly at Gillette Stadium

FOXBOROUGH - In front of 66,215 fans, the majority of whom supported Brazil, it was France’s men’s national team that came home with a 2-1 win at Gillette Stadium on Thursday. It was the first international friendly between the two nations since 2015 and the first win for France in the matchup since 2011. It was also a showcase for Les Bleus ahead of their trip to the World Cup and Gillette Stadium in June.

“It was a great win in a classic match,” France forward Hugo Ekitike said translated from French. “That’s the kind of match you want to play in, that I watched, that the whole world watched on the tv. ” After France dominated possession for much of the first half, it was Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé who opened the scoring, giving New Englanders a taste of what he’ll bring to the tournament this summer.

In the 31st minute, Ousmane Dembélé fed a ball perfectly from the right wing to Mbappé, who followed it through the heart of the Brazilian defense. Meeting the ball just inside the right side of the box, the 27-year-old flipped the ball over a lurching Ederson and into the back of the net for a 1-0 France advantage. Following the score, Brazil found chances to tie it up prior to halftime but nothing came fully into place.

Brazil often threatened on the counter but had trouble getting a truly dangerous angle against Mike Maignan. The best chance to tie it came in the 40th minute off a corner delivered by Raphinha but Casemiro’s header was just off. As the match neared halftime, both teams upped their physicality.