Brazilian Prodigy Endrick Looks to Make Major Tournament Debut at Copa America

Brazil's Endrick, right, celebrates with Rodrygo after scoring his side's second goal during a friendly soccer match between Spain and Brazil at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP)
Brazil's Endrick, right, celebrates with Rodrygo after scoring his side's second goal during a friendly soccer match between Spain and Brazil at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP)
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Brazilian Prodigy Endrick Looks to Make Major Tournament Debut at Copa America

Brazil's Endrick, right, celebrates with Rodrygo after scoring his side's second goal during a friendly soccer match between Spain and Brazil at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP)
Brazil's Endrick, right, celebrates with Rodrygo after scoring his side's second goal during a friendly soccer match between Spain and Brazil at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP)

Brazil's teenage prodigy Endrick will be hoping to make his first appearance for the national team at a major tournament when his country take on Costa Rica in their Copa America opener on Monday.

The 17-year-old striker, who joined Real Madrid from Palmeiras, knows he has a long way to go to break into the Brazilian starting line-up in a squad that includes Raphinha, Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo in attack.

"Only God knows (when I will start). I am very grateful to have Abel (Ferreira) as a coach, he knew when to play me. Everything is up to God and Professor Dorival Jr. He is a spectacular coach. He is doing what is best for the Brazilian team," Endrick told a press conference on Friday.

Endrick, who in March became the youngest player to score in an international match at Wembley when he gave Brazil a 1-0 win over England, made his mark in the other warm-up fixtures ahead of Copa America with a goal in a 3-2 victory over Mexico, having also scored against Spain.

The ruthless competitor added that, despite his youth, there was no pressure on him on the pitch because of his confidence against the opponents.

"I have always been very precocious in my life and since I became a professional I have played against opponents who have always teased me, insulted me, talked about my family, my girlfriend," he said.

"But I got used to it quickly because I was 16. I'm calm and I hope I can help, I think it's right, in football you have to destabilize the other player. It's been like that since I arrived, so I've adapted and I'm very confident that I can help the team."

Brazil will also face Paraguay and Colombia in Group D.



Red Bull Formula 1 Team Drops Liam Lawson and Replaces him with Yuki Tsunoda

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Red Bull Formula 1 Team Drops Liam Lawson and Replaces him with Yuki Tsunoda

Red Bull dropped Liam Lawson as the teammate of Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen after just two rounds of the season and replaced him with Yuki Tsunoda on Thursday.
Lawson was given the Red Bull seat despite not having previously driven a full F1 season and struggled immediately. The New Zealander did not score any points, crashed out of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and qualified in last place for the Chinese Grand Prix and its sprint race.
Tsunoda moves up from Red Bull’s second team, Racing Bulls, in time for his home Japanese GP next week. Lawson will take Tsunoda’s place at Racing Bulls alongside rookie Isack Hadjar.
The change is a sign of how cut-throat F1 can be and an admission that Red Bull made the wrong choice in picking Lawson. He completed only 11 career F1 races before this season and was typically slower than Tsunoda across their six races as teammates last year.
“It has been difficult to see Liam struggle with the (car) at the first two races and as a result we have collectively taken the decision to make an early switch,” The Associated Press quoted Red Bull team principal Christian Horner as saying in a statement.
“We came into the 2025 season with two ambitions, to retain the world drivers’ championship and to reclaim the world constructors’ title and this is a purely sporting decision.”
Horner acknowledged there was work to be done with the team’s RB21 car and said Tsunoda’s experience will prove beneficial in helping to develop it.
“We have a duty of care to protect and develop Liam and, together, we see that after such a difficult start it makes sense to act quickly so Liam can gain experience, as he continues his F1 career with Racing Bulls, an environment and a team he knows very well,” Horner said.