Endrick came off the bench, won the game and put the decision back on Ancelotti
The youngster came off the bench and scored the winner against Egypt. The battle for the No. 9 shirt has never been more wide open
Ancelotti handed the starting spot to Igor Thiago. Endrick came on in the second half. And it was Endrick who settled it.
Saturday's friendly against Egypt turned, in practice, into a trial by fire for the most contested position in the national team — and the result left everything up in the air. The boy from the bench scored the winner and tossed the question straight back into the Italian manager's lap: who starts at the World Cup?
Igor Thiago has the coach's trust, at least for now. But football isn't just about a manager's choice — it's about who shows up when the game demands it. And Endrick showed up.
The competition is real, it's healthy, and it's exactly the kind of good problem a national team wants heading into a World Cup. Two strikers with distinct profiles, each with a serious case for the starting shirt. Ancelotti will have to make a call — and that decision could define Brazil's path through the tournament.
Golmetria's model gives Brazil a 4.68% chance of lifting the title — below what the market implies for the favourites, but with a 91% probability of advancing from the group stage. In other words: going deep is likely. But winning will demand the right choices.
And the first one might be this: who leads the line when the sixth star is on the line?