Young forward Endrick, who will join Real Madrid next July, became this Monday the second youngest Brazilian footballer in history to play in a Copa America, surpassing Pelé at 17 years and 339 days old, yet still below Agostinho Fortes Filho 'Fortes'.

The Palmeiras striker made his debut in the oldest national team tournament on the planet against Costa Rica at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, in the first match of Group D of the Copa America in the United States.

The prodigy from Taguatinga stepped onto the pitch in the 70th minute replacing Vinícius Júnior, with the score tied 0-0 against the Costa Rican team.

However, Endrick remains behind Agostinho Fortes Filho 'Fortes', who was the youngest to play in a Copa America for the Brazilian national team at 17 years and 251 days in the 1919 edition.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento 'Pelé', widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time and the only player to win three World Cups, moved into second place in the rankings after playing at 18 years and 138 days in 1959.

Now Endrick surpasses him, the biggest sensation in Brazilian football since Neymar's emergence, and he is currently playing in his first major tournament with the national team.

He arrived at Palmeiras at the age of 10. In youth categories, he scored 161 goals in 188 matches. He moved up to the first team at 16 and in two seasons has won two leagues (2022 and 2023) and has been crucial in the most recent one.

His natural goal-scoring ability led Real Madrid to pay a huge amount for him. In July, when he turns 18, he will join the Madrid team.

In the national team, he has made an immediate impact, and many are calling for him to be the starting number 9, although coach Dorival Júnior has asked for "a bit of patience" with the precocious goal scorer.