Gareth Southgate was pleased by England’s display in the defeat to Brazil and praised his trio of debutants as he experimented ahead of Euro 2024.
Saturday’s Wembley clash between these injury-hit sides ended in the hosts’ first defeat since their World Cup quarter-final exit to France 15 months ago.
England had hoped to start the international year with a bang but stumbled as teenage star Endrick came off the bench to secure Brazil a late 1-0 win.
The 17-year-old became the youngest man to score a senior international goal at Wembley, where Southgate was largely happy despite his side’s 10-match unbeaten run coming to an end.
“I was pleased,” the England manager said. “Clearly don’t like losing football matches, but I thought there were lots of very good individual performances from players who’ve hardly played for England.
“I thought our more regular players were very good.
“You know, with 15 minutes to go we’re thinking ‘we’ve managed to see a lot of new players, we’ve had more than our share of the game, we’ve had as many attempts on goal as they have’.
“The difference in the end was one moment, really, and that is the ruthlessness of football at this level.”
Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon made a promising first start and Ezri Konsa came on in the 20th minute following an injury to stand-in skipper Kyle Walker.
The Aston Villa defender filled in at right-back and Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, 18, came off the bench 15 minutes from time.
“I thought Anthony was very good,” the England boss said. “Both sides of his game looked very accomplished.
“Ezri, to come in at the moment he did and to deal with a player of that quality (Vinicius Jr), I thought he was also excellent, showed real composure and he should be really happy with his debut. We were really pleased with him.
“Kobbie was a chance to dip his toes. We needed to refresh some of the team because we’ve got to manage their minutes a little bit, so that’s a strange situation when it’s a game of that size but that’s where we are.
“To get Kobbie on the pitch was a brilliant moment for him and his family. You saw a couple of turns and a couple of really composed moments that is a bit of an indication of what he might become.”
Southgate was waiting to find out the severity of the issue that forced Walker off in the first half, saying the right-back was unsure “whether it’s just tightness”.
But the England boss suspects “it’s a little bit more than that”, meaning he would miss Tuesday’s friendly against Belgium.
Southgate expects to have Cole Palmer and Jordan Henderson available for that game but confirmed captain Harry Kane will not feature due to an ankle injury.
“Yeah, he’ll go back,” he said. “He won’t he won’t be fit for Tuesday.
“(Henderson and Palmer) trained today so they’ve come through that OK.
“They should join the group that will train tomorrow and we’ll go from there with that.”
With Kane out and Ollie Watkins having the chance to lead the line against Brazil, the Belgium friendly surely provides a chance to start Ivan Toney.
The one-cap striker was an unused substitute on a rare night when England failed to find the net.
“We are playing a top team so chances are going to be limited,” Southgate said.
“Perhaps we had the chances from set-plays to capitalise on one of them that often makes the difference in those tight games.
“But I was really pleased with the players that went in. We need to find out about them, we need to know where we might head if we didn’t have Harry for a big match.
“I thought Ollie did a good job, didn’t get that clear chance on goal that you might want as a forward but a lot of his work was very, very good.”
Liverpool 1-0 Real Betis: Szoboszlai gets Slot era up and running
Dominik Szoboszlai's goal was the difference as Arne Slot's first game in charge of Liverpool with spectators present ended in a 1-0 win over Real Betis in Pittsburgh.
Liverpool lost 1-0 in a behind-closed-doors meeting with Preston North End last week, but they were victors in sweltering conditions when their pre-season tour of the United States got under way on Friday.
Szoboszlai scored the only goal after 34 minutes, stroking his finish past Adrian after Mohamed Salah slipped a pass through to the Hungary international.
That goal came four minutes after Curtis Jones was forced off through injury, being replaced by 17-year-old Trey Nyoni.
Former Reds goalkeeper Adrian denied Conor Bradley as a strong Liverpool side chased a second, while Harvey Elliott nodded wide from a Kostas Tsimikas cross.
After Slot rang the changes with 63 minutes gone, Kaide Gordon missed Liverpool's best chance to make it 2-0 by dragging his effort wide, but it did not matter as a controlled performance saw the Reds home.
Data Debrief: Reds in cruise control
Slot had been expected to bring a slightly more measured approach than the "heavy metal football" preached by his predecessor Jurgen Klopp, and that was on full display on Friday as Betis were held at arm's length.
Liverpool enjoyed 62.7% of the possession throughout the match, though Slot will be looking for more penetration when they face Arsenal in the next game of their tour on Wednesday, having only recorded 12 touches in the penalty area to Betis' 10.
Sessegnon rejoins boyhood club Fulham after Tottenham departure
Ryan Sessegnon has resigned for Fulham on a free transfer, five years after leaving the club.
The 24-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Cottagers with the option to extend for a further year following his departure from Tottenham last month.
In his first spell at the club, Sessegnon worked his way through the academy over 11 years, scoring 25 goals in 120 first-team appearances.
He then moved to Spurs in a £25million deal in 2019, though struggled to nail down a place in North London, making just 57 appearances in all competitions, and scoring three goals.
"It's amazing to be back. Emotional, as well," he told FFCtv. "It's where it started for me, where everything began, and it's amazing to be back.
"It will always be home for me. I think it had the feeling that it was meant to be, coming back here, so I'm delighted to get it done."
Sessegnon is Fulham's first signing of the transfer window, though they have seen plenty of first-team departures already, with Joao Palhinha, Tosin Adarabioyo and Bobby De Cordova-Reid all leaving the club.
Dewsbury-Hall: Maresca will surprise people at Chelsea
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall believes new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca will "surprise a lot of people" when they watch the Blues this season.
The Italian led Leicester City straight back to the Premier League as Championship winners in his only season in charge and succeeds Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge.
The Foxes topped the second division table with 98 points, with Dewsbury-Hall a key figure in his squad as he netted 12 goals and provided 14 assists last season – his best tally in a single campaign.
Dewsbury-Hall was also named Leicester's Player and Players' Player of the Year.
The midfielder made the switch to West London earlier this month for £30million and is confident that Maresca will have Chelsea challenging for trophies in no time.
"The manager was a big catalyst in wanting me to come," Dewsbury-Hall told BBC Sport.
"I knew from Leicester, a club that went down and had a lot of problems, how he managed to galvanise that if everyone manages to buy into the system.
"I genuinely think in a short space of time we can be pushing for minimum top four - but more than that.
"He may be unknown for a lot of people, but he is top, top level. He will surprise a lot of people."
Chelsea's pre-season got off to a frustrating start as they were held to a 2-2 draw by League One side Wrexham in Maresca's first game in charge on Wednesday.
Dewsbury-Hall did not play in that match but is training with the squad in the United States and could feature in their next outing against Celtic on Saturday.
The 25-year-old is confident the manager's tactics will come across soon, with the players buying into his style.
"We've only been doing it for two or three weeks, but the combination plays are really quick and tidy," he added.
"That's after two weeks. I remember he said to us at Leicester after six months or a year, there might be teething problems at the start, but it will improve.
"Within the first week at Leicester, I was convinced this was top, top level. I felt a bit stupid; I thought I knew a lot about football, but he was teaching me things on a daily basis that I didn't really know before. He has an aura, he can be strict, or gentle and soft - he has both sides.
"I am getting the same feedback here with the lads. They've bought into it here from minute one which is exciting. With a system and philosophy, you need everyone to buy in because, if they do, you can really achieve something."
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