At Salt Lake Stadium, where the heat hung heavily over a less-than-full crowd, Brazil completed its international window with a 4-0 friendly win over India on Saturday. The scoreline was emphatic, but the afternoon in India was marked as much by the oppressive conditions and restrained goal celebrations as by Samuel Lino’s decisive second-half entrance.
Brazil finish the window in India
Estêvão and Pedro, both of Flamengo, supplied Brazil’s other goals before Lino came on after the break and scored twice. The Flamengo forward replaced Vinicius Junior, who had started each of Brazil’s three matches during the current FIFA window.
- Brazil took control of the friendly through goals from Estêvão and Pedro.
- Samuel Lino entered in the second half in place of Vinicius Junior.
- The 25-year-old added two goals, sealing a 4-0 victory and ending Brazil’s tour on a winning note.
Lino’s double continued a productive spell for him at club level with Flamengo. He also pointed to the contribution of the Rio de Janeiro side’s players in the national team, with Pedro and Estêvão joining him on the scoresheet.
“It was an important win for Brazil and I am pleased to have helped,” Lino said. “Pedro scored too, and it shows Flamengo are well represented. I dedicated my first goal to my wife, my family and my parents; the second was for my son.”
Heat shaped the atmosphere
Neither the Brazilian players nor the stands produced the usual level of celebration after the goals. Lino said the extreme heat, particularly the heavy humidity, had made it difficult to sustain a high tempo and had affected the mood around the match.
“A goal is the most important thing in football and celebrating is something beautiful, but sometimes you need to save energy because the heat is immense,” he said. “People have different cultures. In Brazil, we are used to celebration, but the humidity is what really weighs on you. You cannot play at a fast pace all the time in those conditions. We dealt with it well and got the win.”
Lino embraces competition on the left
For Lino, the appearance also offered a reminder of the depth Brazil possess in wide attacking areas. He acknowledged the scale of the challenge presented by Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, while insisting that his confidence remains intact.
“I return happy and confident,” he said. “I have my work at my club. The competition is enormous with Vini, who is the best in the world in that position today, and there are others such as Rodrygo. But I believe in myself and in my work, and I will keep working at my club.”
