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Brazil held to friendly draw by Tunisia despite Estevao goal

Brazil held to friendly draw by Tunisia despite Estevao goal

Published on: Nov 19, 2025 03:06 AM IST
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Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil were held to a disappointing 1-1 friendly draw by Tunisia in Lille on Tuesday as their stuttering build-up to the 2026 World Cup continued.

Brazil held to friendly draw by Tunisia despite Estevao goal
Brazil held to friendly draw by Tunisia despite Estevao goal

In-form 18-year-old Estevao scored a penalty but Lucas Paqueta squandered an opportunity to win the game for the Selecao from the spot.

The five-time world champions are heading into next year's tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada under a bit of a cloud after only finishing fifth in South American qualifying.

They also slipped to a 3-2 friendly loss to Japan last month.

Brazil coach Ancelotti named a strong side, including four forwards Matheus Cunha, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo Goes and Estevao in his starting XI.

But Tunisia took a surprise lead midway through the first half when Ali Abdi's brilliant pass found Hazem Mastouri and the Dynamo Makhachkala striker kept his composure to slip the ball beyond onrushing Brazil goalkeeper Bento.

But Brazil were awarded a penalty by VAR for handball shortly before half-time, much to the disappointment of the thousands of Tunisian fans at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

Brazil were given another penalty with 12 minutes remaining, but substitute Paqueta took over spot-kick duties from Estevao and smashed his effort over the crossbar.

Brazil thought they should have been awarded a third penalty in the 89th minute when Estevao went down, but the referee stuck with his original decision to wave play on despite a VAR review.

Elsewhere in international friendlies, Sadio Mane scored a first-half hat-trick as Senegal thrashed Kenya 8-0, while African champions the Ivory Coast bounced back from a loss to Saudi Arabia with a 2-0 win over Oman.

The Saudis were beaten 2-0 at home by Algeria, with Riyad Mahrez on the scoresheet, as 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Morocco ran out 4-0 winners over Uganda.

Uzbekistan, who will make their World Cup debut next year, had Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov sent off in a goalless draw with Iran.

jc/nf

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

 
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Stay updated with the latest sports news, including latest headlines and updates from the Olympics 2024, where Indian athletes will compete for glory in Paris. Catch all the action from tennis Grand Slam tournaments, follow your favourite football teams and players with the latest match results, and get the latest on international hockey tournaments and series.
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