A Vinicius Jr dribble that almost had Abhishek Singh on his knees. Estêvão remembering who he was, what shirt he was wearing, and running through Akash Mishra like the Indian left back was a metaphoric suggestion and not a flesh and blood defender. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu errors that left enough room for the optimistic to say, 'what if?'.
Sahal Abdul Samad nutmegging Douglas Santon on the touchline. Ryan Williams with a gorgeous turn on the right wing that left his marker floundering. Manvir Singh running in behind (even if he either shot too late or got ushered into angles where it didn't make a difference). A Bruno Guimarães shimmy at the edge of the box.
A lovely Samuel Lino goal scored with one of those Thierry-Henry-finishes™. A couple of lovely touches around the corner by big centre-forward Pedro... India vs Brazil had its moments.
And that's all. The last time India took on Brazil in a senior match, Manisha Kalyan opened the scoring, but there wouldn't be any bloodying of Goliath's nose this time. There were chances, for Manvir and for Williams especially, but they didn't take it and, in the end, no one really minds that they didn't. For other moments came, and really that's what it was all about -- this was a game that had been arranged for these moments to play out.
STOP THAT SAHAL ABDUL SAMAD pic.twitter.com/oUE2Gk6eqr
- Akshai (@Akayu06430392) October 3, 2026
In photos and Instagram reels and in memory banks, that's what everyone wanted, and that's what everyone got. For the devoted, this pilgrimage will always be one well worth it. There were fans flying in from around the country, and even neighbouring Bangladesh, the chance to watch a team they'd supported almost all their lives too great to resist. There was Hussain, from Dhaka, who laughed at the question of expense put to him but how could he miss the team (of Zico and Socrates) that made him fall in love with the sport. There was Amit, from Kolkata but flying in from Bengaluru, who'd momentarily considered recreating Ronaldo's iconic 2002 haircut but thought it would be too cringe if he did it. There was a collection of Indian fans who were divided right down the middle -- 'the shirt is Brazil, but the blood is Indian' one young man screamed with a laugh.
There were others in Mohun Bagan and East Bengal colours and laughing with glee at the prospect of watching the Brazil play live. Many had paid full price when the tickets were initially announced (Rs 8000 incl. taxes, they said) but weren't regretting not waiting for the discount. After all, shelling money for this, how much ever it was, still probably made more sense than doing it to watch Leo Messi wave in your general direction while Luis Suárez and a shirtless Rodrigo De Paul looked on in bemusement. Even if they were rarely out of first gear, they at least got the car started.
For the managers it was about moments too. Carlo Ancelotti politely smiled after being asked what he'd expected to learn from playing India (and what he had learnt) and simply said that for his players, "this was not an exam, it was an opportunity." Some took it well, some not so much but in the end, he declared himself and his coaching team "satisfied" after this Australia-India sojourn.
Khalid Jamil said much the same though and said he was happy with the defensive control shown by Apuia and Anirudh Thapa, and the attacking endeavour of Ryan Williams and the incessant running of Manvir Singh and that there were plenty of positives which he can carry forward. Neither side is likely to face another of that quality for a long time to come, though, certainly not in a game that matters.
The game itself was tame, Brazil barely stepping on the gas, India alternating being too timid to really test Brazil and just not being good enough to, and the crowd spent most of the game in a lull, sparked to life occasionally by those moments we spoke about. You sense it might have been different if Neymar Jr was involved. Vinicius may be Brazil's main man now -- and he got the most response from this crowd, by far -- but you get the sense that if the former Brazil #10 had been involved, Salt Lake would not have been 20-25,000 odd short of full capacity.
Vinicius may be a favourite but judging by the names on the back of the yellow shirts that milled about the stadium (Neymar #10 till the eye could see, with an occasional Ronaldo #9 thrown in), he's a far way from becoming the average fan's main man. But even with that sense of the whole Joga Bonita shtick being a bit underwhelming, most present would call it a good evening out. Now, the Brazilian team heads home, and the Indian team readies itself for Uruguay, a game that'll most likely only be spoken of in the future when someone who'd been in attendance on Saturday says 'remember that time we played Brazil? Who were we supposed to play after?' but the fans who did come to the Salt Lake on this humid Saturday evening (is there another kind, I can hear you ask) will have what they came for. India vs Brazil, played out in moments on the field, and replayed in moments on their screens and their minds.
Notice how we've not mentioned the score yet? That's how much it mattered.
As for Indian football, we go back to the question we raised before a ball was kicked in the match.