Three friendlies. Three wins for the sides that needed them most. With the 2026 World Cup now close enough to smell, England, Brazil and Scotland all used the final pre-tournament window to send a message — and in Kane and Endrick, two of the tournament's most-watched players gave fans exactly what they were looking for.
In Tampa, Florida, England edged New Zealand 1-0 — and the only goal came from the man whose name is always first on the team sheet. Harry Kane got on the end of a delivery to head England in front, and that was enough. It won't go down as the most thrilling warm-up in history, but Kane on the scoresheet before a World Cup is the kind of signal England fans will take. According to Sky Sports, it was England's first World Cup warm-up fixture, and Gareth Southgate's successor will have noted the clean sheet just as much as the goal.
Brazil made harder work of it. Egypt pushed them to 1-1 before Real Madrid forward Endrick came up with the decisive contribution early in the second half to seal a 2-1 win, per ESPN. He didn't need long on the pitch to matter — which, at this point, is basically his entire brand. Brazil go into the tournament knowing their most electric forward can change a game from the bench. Egypt will feel they gave a good account of themselves.
The most emphatic result of the window belonged to Scotland, who put Bolivia to the sword 4-0 — with all four goals arriving before half-time, according to BBC Sport. Four goals in 45 minutes in a World Cup warm-up is not something you see every day. Scotland's tournament group will have noticed.
Three nations, three wins, three very different performances. The 2026 World Cup is coming. Ready or not.
Three friendlies. Three wins for the sides that needed them most. With the 2026 World Cup now close enough to smell, England, Brazil and Scotland all used the final pre-tournament window to send a message
Sources
BBC Sport — Football, ESPN FC, Sky Sports — Football
Flagside articles are original write-ups synthesised from multiple sources. We cite every outlet that fed into the piece.
Pick of the night's matches, what the transfer window's doing, and the one column you should read today. No ads. No tips. No operators.
One-click unsubscribe. We do not share emails.
“Stays on World Cup — different angle, same beat.”
England have released their squad numbers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — and Thomas Tuchel hasn't been subtle about it. Jude Bellingham gets the No. 10. That's not an administrative decision; that's a
“Stays on World Cup — different angle, same beat.”
England have released their squad numbers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — and Thomas Tuchel hasn't been subtle about it. Jude Bellingham gets the No. 10. That's not an administrative decision; that's a
