Brazil Defeats Egypt in Final World Cup Preparation Match

Brazil concluded its preparations for the 2026 North American World Cup by securing a 2-1 victory over Egypt in a friendly match held at Cleveland's FirstEnergy Stadium. Bruno Guimaraes opened the scoring in the seventh minute, but Egypt's Mostafa Ziko quickly equalized in the 11th minute. The decisive goal came in the 52nd minute from Endrick, sealing the win for the Seleção.

The match offered coach Carlo Ancelotti a valuable opportunity to assess his squad. He fielded a starting lineup featuring Alisson Becker in goal, a defense of Wesley, Marquinhos, Roger Ibañez, and Douglas Santos, a midfield trio of Casemiro, Lucas Paquetá, and Bruno Guimaraes, and an attack led by Raphinha, Igor Thiago, and Vinícius Júnior. Ancelotti made extensive changes at halftime, substituting all eleven players to give game time to a wider range of footballers, although Ederson Moraes, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Rayan did not participate.

Despite the win, the team faces lingering questions regarding its starting XI for the World Cup. The early injury to Wesley during the match has added another layer of doubt for the Brazilian coach. Brazil is set to begin its World Cup campaign on June 13th against Morocco, followed by matches against Haiti and Scotland in Group C. Egypt, meanwhile, will start their tournament on June 15th against Belgium, with further group stage games against New Zealand and Iran.