Endrick: The Brazilian striker who scored the winner against England can walk in the footsteps of Romario and Ronaldo

In the most hallowed of England grounds, a 17-year-old Brazilian striker arrived on the world stage. Endrick, the short and rapid striker with a mazy run, would score what turned out to be the winner in the 80th minute of the friendly against England.

The strike, in isolation, was not wondrous, a simple rebound off a Vinicius Junior shot that goalkeeper Jordan Pickford blocked away. But there were subtler details to be observed — his clever off-the- ball dart, drifting away from defenders, anticipation that Vinicius would pass him the ball, the sheer desire to get to the stray ball, the split-second decision making, and the smouldering physicality.

On first viewing, it seems as though the ball hit him rather than he hit the ball, but the slo-mo showed how he steered the ball goalward with his instep. There was pace on the ball. A heavier touch would have made it squirm off his boot. A softer touch would have resulted in the ball bobbling off his feet. But his touch had the perfect weight to reach the destination. Remarkable was his control of the body too. He could have over-run, but decelerated a bit so that he maintained perfect balance. The follow-through was minimal — it’s a gift of Brazilian forwards to control their leg-lift. “Like Romario,” a pundit whispered in the post-match show.

Endrick’s ears might be used to hearing this comparison. It’s more a similarity in physique, the two-footedness and the ruthlessness in front of goal. Endrick is more of a modern forward, who presses relentlessly and has an incredible work rate. He can be spectacular too. As his overhead kick for Palmeiras when he was only 15 testifies. That goal, though, was one of outrageous acrobatics. Four men were shielding him, he broke away from