The senior team of Brazil won an international friendly game against India with a scoreline of 4-0 at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Saturday, October 3, 2026.
The match, which was coached by Brazil under Carlo Ancelotti, started at 7:30 pm IST and attracted considerable attention among locals as it was one of the most important football games that India had organized in recent times, considering the fact that India rarely gets to witness the performance of five-time world champions.
It was all Brazil from the start, as they never surrendered control, with Estevao scoring the first in the 28th minute and Pedro making it two for Brazil right before halftime, putting the teams into halftime at 2-0 in favor of Brazil.
Brazil scored again not long after the start of the second half, with Samuel Lino scoring his first of the game in the 58th minute, putting them up by three goals.
The team also had other global stars such as Vinicius Junior, Raphinha, Bruno Guimarães, and Gabriel Martinelli amongst their squad in the match. They dominated possession and control of the ball in the second half of the match. Lino scored again in the 90+5th minute for his second goal to bring the final score to 4-0 in favor of Brazil.
Goalkeeper for India, Gurpreet Singh, had a tough evening in goal, as he could not stop a single goal out of the four that Brazil scored with good finishes.
Building a Squad Around India's Core Talent.
India played the game with the same regular squad of national football players like Anirudh Thapa, Sahal Abdul Samad, Manvir Singh, and Rahim Ali, among others, who are all known in Indian domestic football. In spite of playing against Brazilian players of far superior individual skills in the game, India players' effort and tactics were appreciated, though the score clearly showed how much weaker the overall squad of India was compared to Brazil's footballers.
It is evident that the game had a significant symbolic value in the context of Indian football and was an extraordinary treat for football fans of Kolkata who have a very strong tradition of football in their city.
The match between Brazil and India was included as part of Seleção's series of friendlies as the team prepares ahead of their next competition under the stewardship of Ancelotti after his exit from European club football.
On the Indian side, the game was important for gaining experience against the elite level opposition at a time when the team is still developing as part of the overall efforts by Indian football to elevate its competitiveness internationally.
