Key events
40 min Paquets fouls Bellingham, who tries unsuccessfully to get him sent off. It’s a friendly lads, come on. In a competitive game it would certainly have been a second yellow card though.
39 min “I’ve got to say,” says Niall Mullen, “I am super impressed by Paqueta’s ability.”
He’s brilliant isn’t he, so stylish and imaginative. Great timing on his through passes as well. You can see why Pep Guardiola is interested in him.
37 min A deflected cross is touched off by Chilwell to Gordon, whose stinging shot from 15 yards deflects behind for a corner.
England work a neat corner routine but Foden screws a shot straight at Bento from 18 yards.
36 min Gareth Southgate will be slightly perturbed by how many chances Brazil have created in this first half.
35 min: Paqueta hits the post! Crikey, how did that stay out. Paqueta’s wild shot from distance turned into a brilliant pass for Wendell on the left side of the area. His shot was blocked by Konsa before Rodrygo collected the loose ball and laid it square to Paqueta, 12 yards out. He opened his body and sidefooted the ball off the outside of the left post. Pickford had already gambled the other way so anything on target would have gone in.
34 min “I’ve got to say I am super impressed by Paqueta’s ability to complain about being called for a foul as he is committing a foul but even before the referee has called a foul,” says JR in Illinois. “It’s quite remarkable.”
Talking of which, he’s just been booked for fouling Stones.
33 min “Evening Rob,” says Kim Thonger. “If Lewis Dunk’s teammates have not already nicknamed him Slam, why on earth not? Talk about missing an open goal.”
You might even call it a slam dunk.
32 min Vinicius Jr has his first proper run at the debutant Konsa, who matches him for pace all the way into the area. Eventually Vinicius Jr slips over and the ball runs behind for a goalkick.
Helluva task to have on your debut, playing against Vinicius Jr.
31 min Watkins turns away from Bruno Guimaraes and finds Gordon on the left. He takes his time and then plays in the underlapping Watkins, whose first-time cross is well cut out at the near post.
Watkins looks the sharpest of the four England forwards.
30 min “How does Bellingham look in this squad/set-up?” says Zach Neeley. “It’s unfair to expect him to come out for England at the same insane level his Madrid career has started. That said, time to either declare him the capstone to Southgate’s project or proof that Southgate doesn’t know what he’s doing and is wasting a golden generation.”
Arf. He’s been quiet so far tonight but was scarily good against Scotland last September.
28 min England’s latest corner is headed out towards the unmarked Chilwell on the edge of the area. He mistimes his shot into the ground and the ball spins a few yards wide of the post.
27 min Gordon’s curling shot from the edge of the area brushes Fabricio Bruno’s shoulder and goes behind for a corner.
27 min Foden pokes the ball to Bellingham in the area, tries to move for the return and goes over. The referee isn’t interested.
Replays show Foden ran into Wendell, who knew nothing about it.
26 min This is a good spell for England, their first bit of sustained possession. Gordon plays in the overlapping Chilwell, whose fast first-time cross is headed away.
24 min The corner is headed away to Chilwell, 25 yards out, and he bullets a volley into orbit.
24 min Chilwell floats the free-kick towards the far post, where Maguire’s header hits Danilo and goes behind for a corner.
23 min Gordon is fouled just outside the area, to the left of centre, by Paqueta. It looks slightly too wide for a shot.
23 min Foden swings a free-kick beyond the far post, where Rice pulls away into lots of space. He chests the ball down and sweeps a low cross that is beaten away by Bento.
21 min “A tasty proposition to see Bento(s) enter the fray for Brazil,” says Matt Dony. “This level is different gravy. Can he keep a lid on his exuberance?”
The more I read this, the more confused I get. Have you inadvertently invented the Fray Bento Box?
20 min: England substitution Walker isn’t going to risk it. Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa comes on for his England debut, with Harry Maguire taking over as captain.
18 min: Chance for Watkins! All of a sudden, chances galore. Bellingham, near the byline on the left, flips a nonchalant pass to Gallagher on the edge of the area. He is pressed so lobs the ball over the defence, into the space. Watkins gets to the ball a fraction ahead of the defender but toebungs over the bar from about 12 yards. He had to take it very quickly, under pressure, but it was still a decent chance.
17 min Paqueta bullies Foden off the ball 30 yards from goal and feeds the ball into Rodrygo, who opens his body and shoots wide. That was a very good chance.
16 min Walker comes back on. Vinicius Jr runs at him straight away, twisting to the left in the area. Walker leans on Vinicius and he goes down; it wasn’t enough for a penalty.
14 min Walker has a problem with his hamstring. You’d be surprised if he took any risks with so many big games ahead for Manchester City. England have Joe Gomez and Ezri Konsa on the bench.
13 min Bellingham is booked for a poor tackle on Bruno Guimaraes. Kyle Walker is down as well.
12 min: Walker clears off the line! Paquets spins Gallagher deep in his own half and lifts a perfectly timed pass over the top. Vinicius Jr gallops through on goal, with Pickford unsure whether to come out or scamper back. Vinicius rolls the ball past Pickford, but he doesn’t connect properly and Walker has plenty of time to get back and clear off the line.
10 min Vinicius Jr is having a little spell at centre-forward now, although it all seems very fluid.
9 min Rodrygo injects a bit of pace into the game, twisting away from Gallagher in midfield, moving to the edge of the D and cracking a low left-foot shot that is comfortably held to his left by the diving Pickford.
7 min “Never mind the cross, where’s the canarinho shirts?” thunders Gary Naylor. “I’d want my money back! What do Rishi and Sir Keir think?”
It’s Sir Tim Berners-Lee I’m more worried about. All those noble intentions and he accidentally created this.
5 min England have made a confident start to the game, Gallagher especially. He runs 40 yards before being fouled by the sliding Paqueta.
3 min Foden’s free-kick from the right beats everyone, including the diving Bento, and flashes not far wide of the far post.
2 min Brazil have started without a centre forward and almost a box midfield of Joao Gomes, Bruno Guimaraes, Lucas Paqueta and Rodrygo.
Craig Levein was right all along.
2 min England are wearing their new kit, the end.
1 min Peep peep! Brazil, in blue, kick off from left to right as we watch. England have started with Gordon on the left and Foden on the right; I wondered whether they might swap given the likelihood of Saka starting on the right when the real quiz begins.
The players line up for a minute’s applause in memory of Terry Venables, a great coach who changed the way the world saw the England national team.
“Endrick,” muses Charles Antaki. “well, at least it’s not Fred or Jo; leave aside the unfortunate echo of Baldrick and you have a name which might make it to the subs bench of classic 70s/80s Brazil teams. Wendell also, maybe. Even in the late 90s there were some decent names (Aldair, Cafu, Dida, Bebeto), stretching into early 2000s (Rivaldo, Kaká, Vampeta) then it fizzles out. So maybe it’s up to the players to be more entertaining than their names, but apparently this lot aren’t even very good on that score…”
The players line up for the national anthems. Before the game starts, why not have a trip down memory lane with two of Britain and Ireland’s finest football writers?
The Brazil bench includes 17-year-old Palmeiras star Endrick, who will join Real Madrid when he becomes a man in July. Their policy of buying the next generation of galacticos is such an interesting development.
“For all that the ludicrous, culture-war baiting, shirt controversy is depressing,” begins Niall Mullen, “this story about Sven managing Liverpool showed that football still has a bit of sentimentality and sweetness in there somewhere. Obviously bittersweet but still lovely.”
Watch the Channel 4 feature below. I can’t find the right phrase to describe why it’s so good, but it is.
“Good evening Rob,” writes Krishnamoorthy V. “It’s a great dilemma isn’t it? You win and it is likely to be discounted as a win against a depleted side. ose or draw, then it shall be ‘if you can’t beat THIS Brazilian side, what hopes can you possibly have?’”
That works both ways though, no? England are missing four or five of their best XI. I think this game could be lots of fun.
This is a very inexperienced Brazil side, with five debutants – including Wolves’ Joao Gomes, the goalkeeper Bento and the 20-year-old centre-back Lucas Beraldo of Paris Saint-Germain. It’s Brazil’s first game under Dorival Jr, who took over when Fernando Diniz was sacked after three straight defeats in World Cup qualifying.
There will be an air of sadness at Wembley tonight. This is England’s first game since the death of Terry Venables and the announcement that Sven-Goran Eriksson has terminal cancer. As I type Channel 4 are showing an interview with Eriksson at his house in Sweden; it’s moving, of course it is, but it’s also charming, funny and remarkably dignified. I’d urge you to watch it.
Read David Hytner’s preview
Gareth Southgate’s pre-match interview
They’re different players [Watkins and Kane], so we have to have an appreciation of the way Ollie plays and not ask him to do the same things Harry does.
We want [Anthony Gordon] to do what he’s done for his club all season. He doesn’t need to do anything different to that. He’s been exciting with the ball, he scores goals, he works hard. I have to say he’s trained really well all week; he looks like he’s been with us forever. I think he’ll play really well tonight.
[How hard has it been to keep the noise about the kit and your future out] We’re used to it! All we ever get is noise. We’re used to it, don’t worry. You have so much to focus on with these international weeks, working from 6am to midnight. You don’t have time for the other bits.
For me the most important thing on the England shirt is the Three Lions. At times we’ve had the St George’s flag on the kit, at times we haven’t. In my head you can’t change the St George’s flag – it’s white with a red cross, so anything else is artistic or whatever. It’s been a long way from my vein of concentration.
Team news: Gordon and Watkins start
As expected, Anthony Gordon makes his international debut. Ollie Watkins starts up front in the absence of Harry Kane, and Kyle Walker captains the team.
England (4-2-3-1) Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Chilwell; Rice, Gallagher; Foden, Bellingham, Gordon, Watkins.
Substitutes: Bowen, Branthwaite, Dunk, Gomez, Johnstone, Konsa, Maddison, Mainoo, Ramsdale, Rashford, Toney.
Brazil (possible 4-2-3-1) Bento; Danilo, Fabricio Bruno, Lucas Beraldo, Wendell; Joao Gomes, Bruno Guimaraes; Raphinha, Paqueta, Vinicius Jr; Rodrygo.
Subs: Rafael Monteiro, Leo Jardim, Murilo, Bremer, Richarlison, Yan Couto, Pepe, Andre Trindade, Douglas Luiz, Andreas Pereira, Savio, Endrick, Galeno, Ayrton Lucas, Pablo Maia.
Referee Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)
Preamble
For the first time in living memory, England go into a match against Brazil as equals, arguably superiors. The Fifa rankings have England in third, two places above Brazil. It’s not that long since England players were likely to go a big, rubbery one at the sight of that famous yellow shirt, but it will be a surprise if they are awestruck tonight.
A lot has changed since these teams last met – a 0-0 draw in 2017 when England were still finding their way under Gareth Southgate. Back then England were below Peru, Chile, Poland and others in the Fifa rankings. Now the only teams above them are Argentina and France. For those who grew up when England had one of the worst talk:walk ratios in international football, it’s all a bit confusing.
Tonight’s match is the beginning of England’s build up to Euro 2024, a tournament they have a realistic chance of winning. Belgium also come to Wembley on Tuesday. England’s injury crisis has drained a bit of the excitement from two high-profile fixtures, although there is an upside of sorts. The absence of players like Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Trent Alexander-Arnold gives others the chance to push for a place in the squad, maybe even the first XI. We’ll have team news shortly.
Kick off 7pm.
