The traffic on the way to France’s World Cup tuneup against Brazil was a problem. Kylian Mbappe’s knee was not.

The former Paris Saint-Germain and current Real Madrid star showed no ill effects from his knee injury on Thursday when he broke free for a goal to give France an early lead on its way to a 2-1 victory in a friendly between two of the world’s top teams.

Mbappe missed almost a month with a left knee sprain for Real Madrid before coming on as a substitute in the last two matches. France coach Didier Deschamps started Mbappe but had him on a limit of about an hour; he came off for a substitute in the 65th minute.

“He has a lot of desire, a lot of soreness in his legs,” Dechamps said. “Beyond that – the quality to make to make a difference, he’s always had.” 
With a crowd of 66,215 heavily favoring Brazil, Mbappe and Hugo Ekitike gave France a 2-0 lead on the same pitch where they will play their final group stage game of this summer’s World Cup, against Norway and Erling Haaland. Bremer cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 78th minute.

The friendly went off without any major hiccups despite the simmering feud between the town of Foxborough and World Cup organizers over almost $8 million in security costs. The sides reached an agreement two weeks ago in which the organizing committee promised to make the payment in advance and the town approved the necessary entertainment license.

That was expected to be the last remaining obstacle to the world’s biggest sporting event arriving in this 20,000-person suburb tucked between Boston and Providence, Rhode Island, that swells to three times its size for New England Patriots games. To accommodate FIFA requirements, a grass field has replaced the artificial turf that had been used for the NFL’s Patriots and the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer.

“Good stadium. Good pitch. It was all OK to play good football,” Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “The atmosphere in the stadium was good – a lot of Brazilian supporters. Everything was fine, apart from the result.” 
Deschamps said the biggest problem was the travel from Boston, about 25 miles away but part of it on a four-lane road with stoplights and tens of thousands of fans trying to get to the game.

“I am convinced that everything will be fine,” Deschamps said. “The most difficult thing are the trips that take a lot of time. … One hour and 15 minutes before a game is not easy.” 
The crowd was the second-largest to watch a soccer match at Gillette Stadium, behind only a 2007 friendly between Brazil and Mexico. It was speckled with fans in Brazilian yellow kits, with just a few French flags waving to celebrate Mbappe’s goal. (The media dining room was more neutral, with madeleines, macarons and eclairs alongside Brazilian brigadeiro, pudim and mousse deo maracuja.) 
Also in the house were coach Joe Mazzulla and players from the NBA’s Boston Celtics, with forward Jayson Tatum taking part in the pregame coin toss alongside Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey.

The 2018 World Cup champion and 2022 Golden Boot winner, Mbappe sprained his left knee in December but played through January before sitting out almost a month. He said on Monday that his injury was “truly behind me.” (Reports that said the team examined the wrong knee were false, Mbappe said at a news conference in Foxborough on Wednesday.) 
And he showed it in the 32nd minute when Ousmane Dembele delivered a through ball that left no one between the No. 2 scorer in French soccer history and the goalkeeper. Mbappe tapped it ahead once before chipping it over the keeper to make it 1-0.

France took a 2-0 lead in the 65th minute when Ekitike, Liverpool’s top scorer this season, converted a pass from Michael Olise in the penalty area. Mbappe left for a substitute immediately afterward.

After France’s Dayot Upamecano was sent off in the 55th minute for taking down a player with a clear path to the goal, a card that was upgraded from yellow to red on video review, Brazil cut the deficit to 2-1 when Bremer redirected a cross from Luiz Henrique past France keeper Mike Maignan.

The game also featured a mid-half “cooling break” that enabled players to rest and hydrate – even though the temperature in early spring New England was in the mid-60s Fahrenheit (15 Celsius). After a heat wave during last year’s Club World Cup, FIFA announced that all games in the 2026 World Cup would include the break, regardless of the temperature on the pitch.

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Brazil will play Croatia on Tuesday in Orlando, Florida, their first matchup since the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals.

“There are no friendlies for us,” defender Leo Pereira said. “Every game is a big game, and we have to play it as if it was a World Cup final.” 
France will play Colombia in Landover, Maryland, on Sunday.

Kai Rooney’s mum, Coleen, has offered some intriguing insight into where her sons’ careers could head – and it may not be to follow in dad Wayne’s footsteps

Manchester United prospect Kai Rooney may be following in dad Wayne‘s footsteps at club level. However, the similarities in career path may end there after mother Coleen‘s latest reveal.

Rooney Jr, 16, is making the kind of moves to signal he’s got what it takes to fashion a career in football. He’s joined up with Darren Fletcher’s under-18 side this season and played a part in the squad that’s taken United to an FA Youth Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace.

But while he may be on the fast track at club level, it may not end up being his dad’s old England side – who face Uruguay this evening – Kai represents at international level. Not only that, but Coleen recently appeared on The Late, Late Show and confessed any of her four sons could be open to representing the Republic of Ireland instead.

“Obviously they’re so young yet,” she told host Patrick Kielty. “We haven’t got to that point, but I think they’d be proud to play for Ireland, yeah.

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“But I don’t know, they don’t know. Let’s let them make the decision.”

Both Wayne and Coleen have Irish heritage, and the former could have qualified to pull on the iconic green through his grandparents. It’s a similar case for Coleen, whose father Tony McLoughlin, a former bricklayer, also hails from Irish stock.

In the event he struggled to earn the attention of English selectors, Kai could therefore find a home across the Irish Sea. And the same might be said for any of his brothers should they chase a career in the sport, either.

Wayne and Coleen share three other boys in Klay, 12, Kit, 10, and Cass, eight. However, none among that trio have gathered nearly the same excitement as their eldest sibling in terms of sporting prospects just yet.

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Kai first started exciting scouts when he raked in 56 goals and 28 assists over the course of a campaign while playing for United’s under-12s. However, he’s still yet to really take off with Fletcher’s group just yet.

Coleen has revealed Wayne, England’s former top scorer, agreed to not attend Kai’s matches for a spell, simply because he gets mobbed by fans too often. However, he broke that treaty for United’s recent quarter-final win over Sunderland in the FA Youth Cup, though Kai was an unused substitute.

He’ll hope to set the record straight by making more of an impact in their upcoming semi against Palace on April 11. And a few more star turns may be enough to earn the attention of certain international setups, including the Republic of Ireland.

The former midfielder played under Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp in separate top-flight leagues

Thiago Alcantara confessed that the key differences between playing under Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola were “energy and control”.

The former midfielder left Liverpool alongside Klopp in 2024 after working under the German for four years. He spent three years with Guardiola at Bayern Munich before the Spaniard moved to Manchester City in 2016.

Alcantara will come up against a familiar foe in Borussia Dortmund this weekend as he takes part in Liverpool’s charity match on Saturday afternoon. Klopp will also return to the dugout for the same occasion.

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Alcantara spoke about the key differences between the two managers on the Coaches’ Voice and noted that Guardiola was more about controlling a game than allowing “chaos” to ensue.

He said: “With Jurgen, it was all about energy. With Pep, it was about control. Rules that we have to have before reaching the final area, that’s when freedom comes. It’s completely the opposite [with Klopp], it’s that ‘I want to be comfortable in chaos.’”

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Highlighting the difference under Klopp, the 34-year-old added: “We had a physical team, wanted to play the ball straight pass in front… we are generating more energy for the team.

“The benefit for the team regarding the energy we had, it’s about the pressure we did when we lost the ball. It was faster than ever I saw in my life, when we lost the ball, we were already making a cage.

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“We were all the time putting traps, so when they had the ball we cover situations so we can go 1v1, or our attacking player was in a favourable position. These two players, number eight and number six, they are very linked. This player [the other midfielder] is the physical profile, he will enjoy more the attacking positions.”

Alcantara spent three years under Guardiola’s guidance, claiming three Bundesliga titles and three domestic trophies during that period. He also lifted the Champions League in Germany following the Spaniard’s departure, alongside four additional league titles and domestic silverware.

In comparison, the former midfielder won just two domestic trophies with Klopp – the FA Cup and Community Shield – before departing and ultimately retiring in 2024.

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France said on Friday the International Olympic Committee’s decision to introduce gender testing to determine eligibility for the female category was a “step backwards”.

“We oppose a generalisation of genetic testing, which raises numerous ethical, legal, and medical questions, particularly in light of French legislation” which does not allow such tests, Sports Minister Marina Ferrari said in a statement.

“These tests, introduced in 1967, were discontinued in 1999 due to strong ​reservations within the scientific community regarding their relevance. France regrets this step backwards,” Ferrari said.

The IOC announced on Thursday only “biological females” will be allowed to compete in women’s events, preventing transgender women from competing.

It is re-introducing gender testing from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics onwards in a move that will also rule out many athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD), previously known as intersex athletes.

Donald Trump takes credit for transgender ban at LA’s 2028 Olympics

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