Brazil beat Australia 4-2 in a fiery friendly at Lang Park in Brisbane, but only after the Socceroos had fought back from a nightmare start to lead the five-times world champions midway through the first half.
The tone was set inside 132 seconds. Vanderson took his first touch goalward, felt Australian defenders closing in and lashed a shot into the top corner of Patrick Beach’s net to put Brazil ahead. Coming four days after Brazil had been forced to salvage a 1-1 draw with effectively the last touch of the game — a result in which Nestory Irankunda had scored a free-kick stunner before the late equaliser — it was a near-perfect start for the Seleção. As Raphinha twice thundered efforts into Beach a minute later, the opening had echoes of 2017, when Diego Souza scored after 11 seconds at the MCG to set up a 4-0 Brazil win, and 2013, when Jô scored after seven minutes in Brasília on the way to a 6-0 win.
The Socceroos looked shellshocked, having been savaged at home for failing to beat a perceived lesser footballing nation in the previous outing. The collapse that might easily have followed did not. Australia steadied, got their foot on the ball and began to show the same attacking intent and bravery in possession they had flashed four days earlier. There were nervy moments: a 19th-minute turnover almost gave Vinícius Júnior room to shoot before he was closed down. They were interspersed with better ones, including Jackson Irvine finding Tete Yengi in the box, and Irvine combining with Paul Okon-Engstler to spring Irankunda into space behind the Brazilian lines.
In the 28th minute it was 1-1. A Connor Metcalfe corner made its way through a mass of bodies, taking a touch off Gabriel, and reached Alessandro Circati at the back post to flick home, with VAR intervening to overrule the offside flag that had followed. Five minutes later Australia led. Circati laid the ball off and Metcalfe thundered a strike beyond debutant goalkeeper Otávio to make it 2-1.
There was still time for more drama on the stroke of half-time. Harry Souttar brought down Danilo and, after a VAR review, Raphinha converted the resulting penalty to level at 2-2. Minutes later Irankunda blasted over the bar when a third Australian goal was there to be taken.
The Japanese referee Yusuke Araki was busier than he might have expected for a friendly, and the second half brought a flashpoint. A 64th-minute clash between Souttar and half-time substitute Endrick sparked an all-in by the touchline, a melee in which the young Brazilian went to ground and almost cleaned up Socceroos assistant Paul Okon Sr.
Endrick had come on for Raphinha, who felt mild discomfort in his right thigh, and he proved the spark that turned the game. He provided the cutback for Bruno Guimarães to put Brazil 3-2 up minutes after the fracas. Then, in the 79th minute, Vinícius Júnior was brought down by a faint touch from Irankunda and sealed the match from the spot.
In the wider context of this Australia side’s development, with an Asian Cup looming in January, the result felt almost immaterial next to the darting runs and slick interplay on show — an evolution demanded of Tony Popovic and a performance almost unrecognisable from the team that could not find a way to break down Egypt three months ago at the World Cup.