Brazil 1 Fred 48
England Hart - Johnson, Cahill, Smalling, Cole (Baines 46) - Cleverley (Lampard 46), Gerrard, Wilshere, Walcott (Lennon 75) - Rooney, Welbeck (Milner 61). Subs not used: Walker, Butland, Jagielka, Lescott, Osman, Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Brazil Julio Cesar - Dani Alves, Luiz (Miranda 78), Dante, Adriano (Filipe Luis 69) - Paulinho (Jean 62), Ramires (Arouca 46) - Ronaldinho (Lucas Moura 46), Neymar, Oscar - Luis Fabiano (Fred 46). Subs not used: Diego Alves, Leandro Castan, Hulk.
Attendance 87,453 at Wembley Referee Pedro Proenca (Portugal)
Kick off 7.30pm. Live on ITV1
ENGLAND opened their 2013 account with a highly encouraging 2-1 win over Brazil as the Football Association began its 150th anniversary celebrations in style.
Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard both scored stunning strikes as the Three Lions beat the five-time world champions for only the fourth time in history.
But it was not just the result which impressed. England produced a free-flowing attacking performance which was the best of Roy Hodgson's reign as head coach so far.
And yet, despite this, it was Brazil who should have taken the lead as Ronaldinho spurned a glorious opportunity from the spot after a harshly-awarded penalty against Jack Wilshere for handball.
However, England took heart from Joe Hart's double intervention, and then looked the silkier side with pace down the flanks from Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck assisting Rooney.
The Manchester United forward scored his 33rd international goal on 27 minutes, following up with a firm, low shot after Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper Julio Cesar had saved from Walcott.
Brazil got back into the shortly after the break, though, when England decided to become their own worst enemy with Gary Cahill at fault, in particular.
The Chelsea centre-back tried to run the ball out of defence but a heavy touch awarded the ball straight to Luis Fabiano.
Fabiano played in half-time substitute Fred - full name Frederico Chaves Guedes - and the Fluminense forward hit a powerful low drive past Hart.
Fred then could have doubled his tally after Manchester City goalkeeper Hart cleared the ball straight to him.
But, thankfully, England survived this wobbly spell and regained control of the match thanks to another half-time replacement.
Lampard's 27th goal in a Three Lions shirt truly was a wonderful effort. The 34-year-old curled a shot from the edge of the box in off the upright to give England a lead which they never looked likely to relinquish.
Next up for Hodgson's men is San Marino away in March followed by a vital qualifying clash against Montenegro in Podgorica.
The Montenegrins currently lead Group H by two points and could therefore streak five points clear if they can cause an upset.
Indeed, skipper Steven Gerrard has already warned his international team mates that they must be on their guard next month.
Perhaps only once that contest is overcome can England enjoy what is a momentous year for the FA.
England's fixtures outside of finals matches and vital qualifiers rarely invoke huge excitement nowadays but even the friendlies look good this year:
- 29 May 2013 England v Republic of Ireland. England face the Irish for the first time since an uncompleted match in Dublin in 1995 due to a riot by English neo-Nazis. The match was abandoned with the Irish leading 1-0 after 27 minutes.
- 2 June 2013 Brazil v England. The Samba Boys get a quick chance to avenge tonight's Three Lions win in the reopening of the Maracana Stadium.
- 14 August 2013 England v Scotland. The Auld Enemy head over Hadrian's Wall for the first time in this millennia. The Scots won 1-0 on their last appearance at the old Wembley Stadium but failed to overturn England's first-leg lead in the Euro 2000 qualifying playoff.
Sadly, tradition and remembrance count for little for some people, as demonstrated by the terribly-observed minute's silence before last Wednesday's match.
The commemoration marked the death of 238 Brazilians in a Santa Maria nightclub fire, as well as the 45th anniversary of the Munich air disaster (in which 23 died) and the 20 years since England's only World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore passed away.
However, it was spoiled in a way which I had rarely heard or seen by sporadic shouting from both sets of supporters.
While those mindless idiots remain a national disgrace, England's display and result will perhaps help to dilute that memory.
Hopefully, on the back of the London 2012 Olympics last year, English football can also celebrate in style in the rest of 2013.
ENGLAND UNDER ROY HODGSON
P12 W7 D4 L1 F23 A10
| 2012 | Scorers | |||
| 26-May | Friendly | W1-0 | v Norway (A) | A Young |
| 2-Jun | Friendly | W1-0 | v Belgium (H) | Welbeck |
| 11-Jun | Euro 2012 | D1-1 | v France (N) | Lescott |
| 15-Jun | Euro 2012 | W3-2 | v Sweden (N) | Carroll, Walcott, Welbeck |
| 19-Jun | Euro 2012 | W1-0 | v Ukraine (A) | Rooney |
| 24-Jun | Euro 2012 QF | D0-0* | v Italy (N) | [*lost 2-4 on penalties] |
| 15-Aug | Friendly | W2-1 | v Italy (N) | Jagielka, Defoe |
| 7-Sep | World Cup qual | W5-0 | v Moldova (A) | Lampard (2), Defoe, Milner, Baines |
| 11-Sep | World Cup qual | D1-1 | v Ukraine (H) | Lampard |
| 12-Oct | World Cup qual | W5-0 | v San Marino (H) | Rooney (2), Welbeck (2), Oxlade-Chamberlain |
| 17-Oct | World Cup qual | D1-1 | v Poland (A) | Rooney |
| 14-Nov | Friendly | L2-4 | v Sweden (A) | Welbeck, Caulker |
JOINING THE 100 CLUB
Ashley Cole became only the seventh player to win 100 caps for England. The Chelsea full-back made his debut on 28 March 2001 in a 3-1 win over Albania. The full list is:
125 Peter Shilton [1970-1990]
115 David Beckham [1996-2009, 17 goals]
108 Bobby Moore [1962-1973, two goals]
106 Bobby Charlton [1958-1970, 49 goals - still the national record]
105 Billy Wright [1946-1959, three goals]
100 Steven Gerrard [2000-present, 19 goals]
100 Ashley Cole [2001-present]
ENGLAND v BRAZIL: THE FULL RECORD
England wins 3
Brazil wins 11
Draws 9
| Date | Scorers | Venue | ||
| 09.05.56 | Friendly | W4-2 | Grainger (2), Taylor (2) | (H) Wembley |
| 11.06.58 | World Cup Group | D0-0 | (N) Gothenburg, Sweden | |
| 13.05.59 | Friendly | L0-2 | (A) Rio de Janeiro | |
| 10.06.62 | World Cup QF | L1-3 | Hitchens | (N) Vioa del Mar, Chile |
| 08.05.63 | Friendly | D1-1 | Douglas | (H) Wembley |
| 30.05.64 | Friendly tourney | L1-5 | Greaves | (A) Rio de Janeiro |
| 12.06.69 | Friendly | L1-2 | Bell | (A) Rio de Janeiro |
| 07.06.70 | World Cup Group | L0-1 | (N) Guadalajara, Mexico | |
| 23.05.76 | Friendly tourney | L0-1 | (N) Los Angeles, USA | |
| 08.06.77 | Friendly | D0-0 | (A) Rio de Janeiro | |
| 19.04.78 | Friendly | D1-1 | Keegan | (H) Wembley |
| 12.05.81 | Friendly | L0-1 | (H) Wembley | |
| 10.06.84 | Friendly | W2-0 | Barnes, Hateley | (A) Rio de Janeiro |
| 19.05.87 | Friendly tourney | D1-1 | Lineker | (H) Wembley |
| 28.03.90 | Friendly | W1-0 | Lineker | (H) Wembley |
| 17.05.92 | Friendly | D1-1 | Platt | (H) Wembley |
| 13.06.93 | Friendly tourney | D1-1 | Platt | (N) Washington DC, USA |
| 11.06.95 | Friendly tourney | L1-3 | Le Saux | (H) Wembley |
| 10.06.97 | Friendly tourney | L0-1 | (N) Paris, France | |
| 27.05.00 | Friendly | D1-1 | Owen | (H) Wembley |
| 21.06.02 | World Cup QF | L1-2 | Owen | (N) Shizuoka, Japan |
| 01.06.07 | Friendly | D1-1 | Terry | (H) Wembley |
| 14.11.09 | Friendly | L0-1 | (N) Doha, Qatar |
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