Australia let the visitors know they were in for a game early on, with Connor Metcalfe firing over before Nestory Irankunda glided inside and unleashed a venomous strike that Hugo Souza tipped over his crossbar.
There was a slight break following a clash of heads between Jacob Italiano and Douglas Santos, and the battle continued once play resumed with heavy tackles going in from both sides to dispel any friendly tag.
Brazil still came close to opening the scoring with a moment of quality when Raphinha met Danilo Santos’ searching ball with a looping header, but Patrick Beach was able to catch it.
As Brazil started to take more control of the play, Estevao jinked inside before firing off-target; Vinicius Junior’s deflected strike was saved, Lucas Herrington did well to deny Raphinha and Bruno Guimaraes struck over the crossbar.
Australia still posed a threat, especially from corners, although Harry Souttar could only turn his attempt wide when he was found at the back post.
Estevao then thought he had opened the scoring moments before half-time, but his goal was ruled out due to Guimaraes fouling Souttar.
Undeterred by that scare, Australia initially held firm after the restart but started to concede chances as the hour mark came and went.
Even so, parity remained as Vinicius’ tame shot was saved, Raphinha took his shot early under pressure from Herrington and sent it wide, then Estevao skied his attempt.
The Selecao were left stunned in the 68th minute, when Irankunda beat Hugo Souza with a sensational free-kick and celebrated in an equally eye-catching fashion.
Souttar embodied the Socceroos’ determination to maintain their lead, putting his head in front of a powerful Douglas Luiz shot.
When it looked like the game was lost for Brazil, they avoided suffering back-to-back defeats for the first time since 2023 in the final seconds, as Rayan’s powerful header from Raphinha’s corner beat Beach as the goalkeeper could only tip it onto the underside of the crossbar.
That forced Australia to settle for their third consecutive draw inside 90 minutes.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Raphinha (Brazil)
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