Marquinhos had little to do for an hour in Kolkata, but Brazil’s captain was part of a comfortable 4-0 friendly win over India as Carlo Ancelotti used the occasion to rotate heavily on Saturday night.
The move
Brazil continued their Asian tour with a third match after drawing 1-1 and winning 4-2 in Australia. India, ranked 138th in the world, offered limited resistance in a packed and animated Kolkata stadium.
Ancelotti handed goalkeeper Pedro Morisco his first international appearance and made widespread changes to his side. The match gave the Brazil coach few serious conclusions to draw, however, with India only threatening through two Ryan Williams efforts in the 53rd and 64th minutes.
Marquinhos started and remained on the pitch until the hour mark as Brazil took control before the interval. Estevao struck first in the 28th minute, driving his effort past India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
Sandhu had already been rescued by his post when Pedro headed against the woodwork in the 36th minute. He was beaten again six minutes later by Flamengo forward Pedro, whose relatively soft shot found its way in.
The India goalkeeper did deny Vinicius in the 44th minute, although the Brazil attacker was repeatedly caught offside during a one-sided contest.
The French season around it
For Marquinhos, the outing brought a controlled international shift rather than a demanding defensive test. Brazil’s back line was rarely placed under sustained pressure before he was withdrawn after 60 minutes.
Samuel Lino, introduced after the break, supplied the final damage. He scored twice from individual moves, first in the 58th minute and then again in stoppage time, in the fifth added minute.
Brazil will remain in Asia in November, when their tour continues with fixtures in Japan and Singapore.
