Estêvão, Pedro & Lino aid Brazil to beat India in historic international friendly

The Blue Tigers will face Uruguay next on 6th October in Kolkata.

As the former France international, Vikash Dhorasoo said before the India vs Brazil clash, the Blue Tigers need to enjoy the occasion against the five-time FIFA World Cup champions, the Blue Tigers surely enjoyed the occasion when VYBK buzzed with a great atmosphere.

The Indian men’s national football team were defeated by the Brazilian men’s national football team in an historic international friendly at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan VYBK, Kolkata, by a scoreline of 0-4. For the Seleção, Chelsea winger Estêvão opened the scoring while Pedro doubled the lead. The substitute Samuel Lino scored a brace in the fixture.

The 4-0 defeat may not have been the result that India wanted, but the historic encounter between these two sides gave the Blue Tigers much needed valuable experience of playing a World Class team.

Playing in front of such elite players showed that the type of mentality and intensity that a football game of the highest quality required from the first minute of the game. It also taught them how to handle the global attention that comes with such fixtures.

While this could help the Indian side to measure themselves, the exposure can help the footballers understand the requirements and level to compete at the highest level.

Now the Blue Tigers will face another South American giant, Uruguay, at the same venue on Tuesday, 6th October, 2026, from 19:30 IST, which will be a fixture that will give them global exposure after they got a taste of it in the match against Brazil.

Estêvão & Pedro scored in the first half

In the first half, the Blue Tigers were able to keep Brazil at bay in the first 20 minutes, until, the five-time World Cup Champions showed their class as Chelsea’s Estêvão scored the first goal while Pedro sealed the first half with their second goal of the night.

India started the game brightly, enjoying minimal possession while rotating the ball amongst themselves. They had also maintained their defensive shape and created an early opportunity through Apuia, whose long-range effort in the 6th minute went just wide of the Brazil goal.

Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr. also tested the Indian defense multiple times and was caught offside during his attempts, along with the goal scorer Estêvão, who highlighted the Blue Tigers’ compact defensive line.

Brazil eventually grew into the game as they broke the deadlock in the 28th minute when Estêvão bagged the first goal for the Seleção. The youngster cut inside, beating Ashique Kuruniyan before unleashing a left-footed effort that tested Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who was unable to stop the ball.

After the first goal, Khalid Jamil’s squad didn’t maintain an organized defense, as Brazil doubled their advantage through Pedro in the 42nd minute. Estêvão became the provider of the second goal as his through ball found Pedro behind Anwar Ali. The Brazilian forward calmly slotted it past Gurpreet, who looked very unsettled throughout the sequence.

The Blue Tigers gave it their all

Khalid Jamil made a decisive change at the start of the second half, bringing in Prabhsukhan Singh Gill in place of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. This marked the first time Prabhsukhan Gill represented the Blue Tigers on an International level.

In the 54th minute, Manvir Singh got the best opportunity for India in the game when a goal-bound ball found Indian number 9. He took a left-footed shot, that went just over the near post, due to Marquinhos chasing the ball & the forward until he took the shot.

On the other hand, Brazil continued their attacking football when Samuel Lino, who replaced Vinicius Jr, scored the third for the Seleção, as he curled the ball towards the goalpost, and the debutant Prabhsukhan Gill had no chance to stop the goal,which was a result of an Indian defensive error.

Then in the final moment of the match, Lino bagged his second and Brazil’s fourth of the night with what would be the final touch of the ball.

For the Blue Army, many faces made important impacts. Most notably, Ryan Williams and Abhishek Singh Tekcham. Ryan Williams looked very deadly with his progression, while Abhi Meitei kept the threat of Vinicius Jr in his pocket for the first half.

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