Brazil vs. France Player Ratings: Star-Studded Contest Lives Up to World Cup Hype

France showed its class on Thursday night, defeating Brazil 2–1 in an international friendly that delivered goals, red cards and some eye-opening revelations ahead of the upcoming World Cup.

The two sides clashed at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, bringing some of the best players in the world face to face on U.S. soil. Who else but Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé to open the scoring just past the half-hour mark, rewarding Les Bleus for their far superior start.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men looked much better in the second half, and seemed to have a newfound life in the game when France center back Dayot Upamecano was sent off in the 55th minute. Yet France was the next team to score through Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitiké.

An unlikely goalscorer in Bremer pulled one back for Brazil in the 78th minute, but it was nothing more than a consolation goal on an otherwise poor night for the Seleção, who desperately missed their wealth of injured players left back home.

Winners and Losers

Winners

Kylian Mbappé made his first start for club or country since Feb. 21 and looked completely unburdened by the knee injury that gave him so much trouble over the last few months. The Frenchman’s pace tore apart Brazil’s backline and his clinical finishing stole the show.

Michael Olise simply makes everything look effortless. Surrounded by stars and yet the 24-year-old still stands out for his decision-making and vision with the ball at his feet. His blistering run forward and inch-perfect pass to Ekitiké created the match-winner for France, and as if that wasn’t enough, he pitched in to help Malo Gusto lock down Vinicius Jr once his side went down to 10 men.

Losers

Wesley, Dayot Upamecano — Dayot Upamecano (right) saw red for a poor challenge on Wesley. | Michael Owens/Getty Images

Casemiro might have been one of the most active players for Brazil, but he came up short on Thursday evening. The Brazilian lost a duel to Tchouaméni in midfield that ultimately led to France’s opening goal. In the final third, he sent an unmarked header over the crossbar and took a weak shot on a ball meant for Vinicius Junior.

France was cruising in the first half, giving Dayot Upamecano little to do inside his own half. As soon as he was tested after the restart, he committed a poor challenge on a charging Wesley, who was through on goal. A quick VAR review confirmed it was a denial of a goalscoring opportunity, and the defender saw red, leaving his team down to 10 men.

Brazil Player Ratings vs. France (4-4-2)

Vinicius Junior was held quiet for Brazil. | Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Ederson—5.4: Took unnecessary chances with the ball that could have hurt Brazil even further. Left his line to close down Mbappé and Ekitiké—and paid the price both times.

RB: Wesley—6.5: Out of his depth defensively. Bypassed by Mbappé like he wasn’t there on multiple occasions. Made up for it by forcing Upamecano into a reckless challenge that got the Frenchman sent off.

CB: Bremer—7.4: Scored the first goal for his country to give Ancelotti’s side something to cheer about.

CB: Léo Pereira—6.0: Marked his Brazil debut with a spot in the referee’s book and not much else.

LB: Douglas Santos—5.8: Never stood much of a chance against Dembélé.

RM: Raphinha—5.8: Made several stellar runs in behind, but lacked the quality in the final third to cash in on his chances. Only played 45 minutes.

CM: Casemiro—8.0: Put together some bright moments, but had his pocket picked in midfield that ultimately allowed France to open the scoring. Squandered several golden opportunities.

CM: Andrey Santos—6.4: Had the opportunity to make his case while Bruno Guimarães is injured, but never got anything going.

LM: Gabriel Martinelli—5.8: Barely touched the ball beyond one curling strike that flashed just wide in the first half.

ST: Matheus Cunha—7.0: Struggled to get involved in the attack and settled for rushed shots when he did. Deserves credit for his aggressive pressing while his fellow forwards looked disinterested.

ST: Vinicius Junior—7.3: None of his usual tricks worked against France. Easily defended and never looked much of a threat to score. Had little support from his teammates.

SUB: Luiz Henrique (46’ for Raphinha)—7.8: Had an impact straight away. Took on Theo Hernández without fear and bagged the assist on Bremer’s goal.

SUB: João Pedro (63’ for Martinelli)—5.8: Only took 15 touches in a forgetful outing.

SUB: Igor Thiago (71’ for Cunha)—5.9: Completed just two passes.

SUB: Roger Ibañez (71’ for Wesley)—6.2: Committed a brutal challenge on Theo Hernández that earned him a yellow card.

SUB: Danilo (71’ for Santos)—6.5: Whipped in the free kick that led to Brazil’s goal.

SUB: Gabriel Sara (84’ for Casemiro)—N/A

Subs not used: Bento (GK), Hugo Souza (GK), Danilo (CB) , Kaiki, Fabinho, Endrick, Rayan.

France Player Ratings vs. Brazil (4-2-3-1)

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Mike Maignan—6.7: Will be upset he could not keep a clean sheet on the night, but there was hardly much he could’ve done to keep out Bremer’s close-range finish.

RB: Malo Gusto—6.7: Hung in there with Vinicius Jr, but needed the help of Olise tracking back to lock down the Brazilian.

CB: Ibrahima Konaté—6.5: Did well to close down gaps in transition, but committed a blunder or two when playing out the back that will have Liverpool fans seeing ghosts.

CB: Dayot Upamecano—7.2: Left his team with 10 men for much of the second half after a poor challenge just outside his penalty area sent him packing.

LB: Theo Hernández—6.7: A fairly routine outing. Had little problems going against Raphinha.

CM: Aurélien Tchouaméni—6.6: Happily sat deep and played disrupter when called upon. Won the ball back that kickstarted his team’s opening goal.

CM: Adrien Rabiot—7.6: Underwhelmed. Created zero chances, was inaccurate with the ball and lost more than half of his duels.

RW: Ousmane Dembélé—7.5: Had free license to roam, drifting centrally from the right wing without much resistance from Brazil. Played the sensational through ball to set up Mbappé.

AM: Michael Olise—7.7: Showed bursts of pace and a few trademarked silky moves, but was rather quiet until he set up Ekitiké’s goal with a brilliant run forward and a perfectly weighted pass.

LW: Hugo Ekitiké—7.4: Played second fiddle to Mbappé and Dembélé until the latter came off, which freed Ekitiké to see more of the ball and eventually chip home a goal on his final involvement in the game.

ST: Kylian Mbappé—9.0: Used his sheer pace to blow by Ancelotti’s makeshift backline. Effortlessly chipped Ederson to open the scoring and arguably should have buried at least one more.

SUB: Maxence Lacroix (58’ for Dembélé)—6.2: Came in to shore-up the defense, but couldn’t help the team keep a clean sheet.

SUB: N’Golo Kanté (58’ for Tchouaméni)—6.3: Slotted into the midfield with ease.

SUB: Désiré Doué (66’ for Ekitiké)—6.2: Tidy in possession, but didn’t get a chance to show his skill.

SUB: Marcus Thuram (66’ for Mbappé)—6.6: Created a decent chance in his cameo.

SUB: Maghnes Akliouche (92’ for Olise)—N/A

SUB: Pierre Kalulu (92’ for Gusto)—N/A

Subs not used: Brice Samba (GK), Lucas Chevalier (GK), Lucas Digne, Lucas Hernández, Eduardo Camavinga, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Randal Kolo Muani, Rayan Cherki.

What the Ratings Tell Us

Hugo Ekitiké struggled to mesh with both Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé. | Michael Owens/Getty Images

Hugo Ekitiké might have gotten on the scoresheet, but the Liverpool star was upstaged by the other big names headlining France’s attack. With two of the best goalscorers in the world already in Didier Deschamps’s XI, Ekitiké might eventually find himself replaced by a playmaker to give Les Bleus a more balanced front line. After all, he only came to life once Dembélé came off.
With Rodrygo set to miss the World Cup through injury, Gabriel Martinelli got a prime chance to prove he should be the one to replace him at the World Cup ... and he failed. The Arsenal winger brought virtually nothing to the attack, leaving the door open for Estêvão to potentially take his spot in the future, when he returns to full fitness.
Ibrahima Konaté has still yet to recover his best form. The center back once again took what should have been a simple pass out the back and sent it right to an opponent in a dangerous position. It didn’t cost France, but his lapses in judgement will on the world stage.

The Numbers That Explain the High-Stakes Friendly

Brazil did not have a shot on goal in the opening 45 minutes, a first for the Seleção in three years. They rallied four in the second half, but it was too little too late.
France, meanwhile, only had three shots on goal, yet they buried two of those. The big stars up top for Les Bleus are positively lethal.
Both teams were rather careless in possession, only managing a 86% and 85% passing accuracy respectively.

Statistic	Brazil	France
Posession	46%	54%
Total Shots	17	7
Shots on Target	4	3
Big Chances	3	2
Pass Accuracy	86%	85%
Fouls	12	12
Corners	45	2