Brazil closed out its tour of Australia and India with a commanding 4-0 win over the hosts at Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, as Samuel Lino scored his first two international goals in a second-half surge. India, ranked 138th in the world, held firm for nearly half an hour before Chelsea winger Estevao broke the deadlock, triggering a collapse that extended the hosts' winless run to six matches.
A Promising Start Undone
India's game plan was tactically sound in its opening phase. By leaving Vinicius Jr unmarked on the left and daring him to beat an offside trap, while compressing their defensive block and funneling long balls to lone forward Manvir Singh, the hosts disrupted Brazil's rhythm and kept the five-time world champions scoreless for nearly thirty minutes. That discipline unraveled once Estevao cut in from the right and curled a left-footed finish past the goalkeeper in the 28th minute. The teenager then turned provider, splitting India's defense to tee up Pedro for the second. From there, the gulf in quality between a World Cup-caliber squad and a team ranked outside the world's top 130 became impossible to disguise.
Ancelotti's Rotation Policy Pays Off
Carlo Ancelotti used the friendly to continue rotating his squad, making eight changes from the side that beat Australia 4-2 three days earlier and retaining only Vinicius Jr, Danilo and Gabriel Bontempo. The approach reflects a broader trend among elite national teams during international windows: using lower-stakes fixtures against lower-ranked opponents to evaluate depth, test fringe players such as Estevao and Lino in live competition, and manage fitness loads ahead of a demanding competitive calendar. Pedro's assist for Lino's third goal, followed by Lino's own solo effort to make it 4-0 just before full time, underlined how comfortably Brazil's second-string options handled a match that was ostensibly developmental for them but high-stakes for the hosts.
What the Result Means for Indian Football
For India, the scoreline is a reminder of the distance between hosting marquee friendlies and competing in them. A crowd of 51,000 turned out at Salt Lake Stadium and, notably, cheered the visitors as enthusiastically as the home side - a telling signal of how global stars like Vinicius Jr draw attention regardless of the stakes on the pitch. Missed opportunities from Manvir and Ryan Williams meant India failed to register even a consolation goal, prolonging a winless streak now at six games. The exhibition nonetheless offers context for administrators and sponsors: friendlies against top-ranked opponents generate commercial and broadcast interest that genuinely competitive matches against similarly ranked teams rarely match, even when the result is lopsided.