FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — France defeated Brazil 2 to 1 during a friendly game at Gillette Stadium on Thursday evening. It was a packed crowd of more than 65,000 fans.
Fans from all over the world traveled to the Boston area for the matchup. Like two brothers, James and Owen, who arrived from France Wednesday night.
“We had to come to show support for our country. Soccer is pretty much the only sport we watch,” they said.
It was a home crowd for the Brazilians as their supporters outnumbered the French fans. The iconic yellow jerseys for Brazil lined the majority of the crowd.
“It’s so nice having everyone celebrating. I feel like I’m in Brazil right now. It’s so much fun,” Thalita Correia said. “Brazilian soccer fans are hyped up always. This is one of our home sports, so I knew it was going to get packed.”
The Brazilian players appreciated the crowd showing up for them, although at times boos were raining down on the team.
“To always play with the shirt it is an incredible atmosphere. We come to the stadium, and we can see so many yellow jerseys in the crowd. So it’s amazing every time,” Brazil Forward Matheus Cunha said.
“Good stadium, good pitch,” Brazil Head Coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “The atmosphere in this stadium was good. A lot of Brazilian supporters so everything was fine apart from the result.”
The crowd favoring Brazil was not what some of the French players anticipated.
“Honestly, I was a little bit surprised, especially during their national anthem,” France Midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni said. “We stayed focused on ourselves. It was an important game for us you know to play against Brazil.”
The 26-year-old player also mentioned he was a big fan of American football and appreciated playing at the stadium that’s home to the six-time Super Bowl Champions, the New England Patriots.
“It’s incredible to get the chance to play in the Tom Brady stadium next to him before the game to tell him that it was a pleasure for me to play in the stadium. Great atmosphere, and great fan base. That was dope.”
France will face Norway in one of the best group stage matches at the World Cup. That’s scheduled for June 26 at Gillette Stadium.
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