The friendly match played between Brazil and England at Rio de Janeiro on Monday has ended in a draw. Both the teams scored two goals each in the match.
It was a cracker of a game. The standard of the performance of both the teams was quite high and the fans out there were thoroughly entertained.
The English manager Roy Hodgson made some changes in the starting XI that had featured against Republic of Ireland. Phil Jones, Leighton Baines and James Milner got starting opportunities in this game.
There were some speculations before the game that Theo Walcott might play upfront, but, that didn’t happen. Walcott again started at the right wing.
For Brazil, it was Neymar who started upfront along with Fred, Hulk and Oscar.
Brazil started aggressively and created a couple of opportunities in the first 10 minutes, but, the English defenders were alert on both the occasions and they didn’t let any damage being done.
Just a few minutes before the half time break, England also got a chance. A great pass from Glen Johnson went to Theo Walcott who was about 10 yards away from the penalty box. Walcott went past a couple of Brazilian defenders and played a flat shot towards the post, but, he couldn’t place the ball well. It went straight to Julio Cesar who stopped it with ease.
The first goal of the match was finally scored in the 12th minute of the second half. It was Brazil which took the lead courtesy of a fine goal from Fred. A long ball from Anderson bounced back after hitting the cross bar and Fred was quick to cash on that opportunity. He dabbed the ball home to take his team ahead.
However, the hosts lost their lead soon. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with a superb strike in the 68th minute equalized the scores and brought England back into the match.
Wayne Rooney gave England a lead of 2-1 just a few minutes later. He beautifully deflected James Milner’s cross into the top corner of the net. Julio Cesar tried his best to make a save, but, it was out of his reach.
The hosts were under pressure after getting trailed by a goal, but, they didn’t panic at all. They stayed calm and managed to score the leveller in the 83rd minute. Paulinho was the one who did it for Brazil. Lucas Moura set up the goal with a wonderful cross and Paulinho finished it in an acrobatic style.
None of the two teams managed to find the net in the remaining time and the match was a draw.