Brazil and France meet in a high-profile international friendly at Gillette Stadium as both World Cup contenders sharpen their plans ahead of the 2026 tournament.
Brazil vs France – Match preview and team news
- Date: Thursday, 26th March.
- Kick-off: 8pm BST.
- Venue: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough.
Brazil team news
Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti has been forced into late defensive reshuffles this month, with Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes, Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker and veteran left-back Alex Sandro – now at Flamengo – all withdrawing from the squad through injury.
Neymar’s absence, however, is a deliberate decision rather than one enforced by fitness. Ancelotti again opted to leave out Brazil’s all-time leading scorer and instead reward uncapped attacking duo Igor Thiago and Rayan, who have been in eye-catching Premier League form for Brentford and Bournemouth respectively.
Even so, Thiago and Rayan face intense competition for minutes in the forward line, with Matheus Cunha, Vinicius Junior, Raphinha and Joao Pedro all jostling for valuable pre-World Cup game time in one of the most crowded attacking departments in international football.
France team news
France will be without William Saliba, as the Arsenal centre-back has pulled out of Didier Deschamps’s squad, with Roma midfielder Manu Kone also withdrawing and not being replaced.
Barcelona defender Jules Kounde is sidelined for this month’s matches because of a hamstring injury, but even with those absences Les Bleus still have plenty of options for their trip to the USA, where Kylian Mbappe will be in the spotlight.
Mbappe currently has 55 goals for France, leaving him just two behind Olivier Giroud’s men’s national record of 57, and he is widely expected to move past that landmark either during these warm-up fixtures or at the World Cup itself.
Form
Brazil
Their overall run across all competitions reads three victories, two losses and one draw, underlining how defensive lapses have occasionally undermined promising performances in possession. Their most recent encounter was a 1-1 draw with Tunisia in November.
France
France already qualified for the World Cup directly after being unbeaten in their qualifying campaign. Their latest match was against Azerbaijan away from home (3-1). The last two World Cup finalists are also on a seven-match unbeaten run across all matches.
Predicted lineups
Brazil: Ederson; Wesley, Bremer, Marquinhos, D. Santos; Raphinha, Casemiro, A. Santos, Vinicius Jr; Cunha, Pedro
France: Maignan; Gusto, Konate, Upamecano, T. Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Olise, Cherki, Mbappe; Dembele
How to watch Brazil vs France?
UK viewers can watch Brazil vs France live on ITV4, with a free live stream available on ITVX.
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