Endrick will inevitably be a great sensation, says Dorival – 03/23/2024 – Sport

Rookie coach of the Brazilian team, Dorival Júnior said this Saturday (23) that Endrick will be a great player on the international stage if he manages to maintain the attitude and dedication he has had in the initial phase of his career.

“He is a boy who, you can hope, will inevitably be one of the great sensations”, said the coach, who is trying to protect the attacker from the pressure due to the high expectations that are placed on him. “We will wait and give him time to complete himself as a professional.”

Endrick was the scorer of the goal that secured Brazil’s victory against England at a packed Wembley. At 17 years and 246 days, he became the fourth youngest player to score goals in the main team — behind only Pelé, Edu and Ronaldo Fenômeno.

He was also the youngest player to score a goal for a national team at the legendary stadium in London, England.

“Of course, we need to be calm with the boy, who is still very young. [a carreira] and, perhaps, accelerating the formation itself a little”, said Dorival in a press conference after the match.

The striker entered the game in the 24th minute of the second half replacing Rodrygo, a Real Madrid star who was one of the highlights of the game, but was showing tiredness.

The 17-year-old’s first touch of the match, in the 34th minute, was fatal: well positioned, he caught the rebound from English goalkeeper Pickford after Vinicius Júnior’s shot and scored the winning goal for Brazil.

The celebration was effusive. Endrick ran towards the Brazilian public positioned behind Pickford’s goal and, shouting, hugged all his teammates. The emotion was so great that, minutes later, the attacker came face to face with the English goalkeeper again, but he rushed forward and shot poorly.

“At the end I had another ball to score, but I’m not going to lie, I was just thinking about the goal, because it’s a unique feeling […]. I couldn’t focus on the game anymore and that hurt me a little. But it’s a unique memory and there’s not much to say, I’m very happy,” Endrick told reporters after the match.

Proving his boyhood, Endrick also said that his first goal with the national team reminded him of video games. “A curious fact is that I played video games in career mode as a player and there I scored the first game and the first goal here at Wembley, and that came into my head and I just kept thinking about it,” he said.

Before the match against England, the 17-year-old striker had already played two matches for the Brazilian national team. Between the games, Endrick had 28 minutes (19 against Argentina and 9 against Colombia).

For Palmeiras, the player has played 66 matches and scored 18 goals — the majority in the final stretch of the 2023 Brasileirão, when he was decisive in the race for the title with 11 goals scored.

“I think it could not be more symbolic, a victory here at Wembley with a goal from Endrick, who is the youngest. It is a victory that gives confidence to continue the work, which gives a little more of the tranquility that is necessary to implement the ideas”, said the captain of the Brazilian team, right-back Danilo, 32.

Vinícius Júnior, 23, also spoke of the joy of seeing his future Real Madrid teammate score his first goal for the national team.

“Happiness for my team’s goal, even more so for Endrick, at 17 years old, playing at Wembley, where he always dreamed of, being able to score the goal and giving us the victory […]. I’m very happy that, in a short time, he will play with me.”

Endrick was chosen to replace Rodrygo in the second half of the match because Richarlison, another striker competing for position, had not fully recovered from injury and was rested from the match.

“For me, it would be a suitable time [para] having a striker of that level by my side, why not put him?”, explained Dorival about the choice of replacement.

Endrick now travels with the team to Madrid to play the friendly against Spain at the also legendary Santiago Bernabéu — the stadium of his future club. The game will be on Tuesday (26).