Wayne Rooney, England
2014 World Cup hosts Brazil will host England in a friendly match at the iconic Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro which has just been renovated for the upcoming showpiece. Brazil have only been taking part in prestigious friendlies as they automatically qualify as hosts of the World Cup and will use this match as preparation for the Confederations Cup which kicks off on June 15.
England, meanwhile, have set up two tricky matches against the Republic of Ireland and this one against Brazil as Roy Hodgson looks to build his team for the crucial World Cup qualifying matches in September.
Under the care of Luiz Felipe Scolari since late 2012, Brazil have drawn three, lost one and won one of their five games. Brazil struggled to a 2-2 draw in their last friendly against Chile, and were jeered by fans in what was the team’s final match before the Confederations Cup squad was announced. Scolari has called up 44 players for the five matches since retaking Brazil’s reins. He had a difficult start, losing to England 2-1, drawing 2-2 with Italy and 1-1 with Russia before beating Bolivia 4-0 for his first win only to follow that up with the home draw against Chile. Ronaldinho and Kaka have been left out of Brazil’s team for the Confederations Cup.
Scolari also overlooked Alexandre Pato and Chelsea’s Ramires for the World Cup warm-up tournament that Brazil will host. The team does include Santos’ Neymar, Chelsea’s Oscar, Real Madrid’s Marcelo, Paris Saint-Germain’s Lucas, Zenit’s Hulk and Thiago Silva. Neymar, who recently signed a five year contract with Barcelona, will be looking for a big performance for his country here. The Santos star has failed to live up to the hype that’s seemingly followed him since he burst onto the scene a few years ago. At his best, there’s no doubting his skill and pace, with his maze-like dribbling among the best in the world and his finishing ability also world-class.
This time next year all of the talk will be of the upcoming World Cup in Brazil, and England need to make sure that they’re part of the conversation. The Three Lions currently occupy second position in their World Cup qualification group, but they face a struggle to top the section with Montenegro currently two points clear at the summit. The English find themselves in somewhat of an uncomfortable position with four matches of their campaign remaining. The prospect of a tricky two-legged play-off tie to reach Brazil, if they finish second in their six team group, won’t be one that would thrill manager Roy Hodgson, so he’ll be targeting four victories from the Three Lions’ remaining matches to plot a way towards the finals.
The former Inter Milan, Fulham, Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion boss has done an okay job in the hottest of hotseats so far, but just being “okay” shouldn’t really be enough for England. Under Hodgson, They have only won by more than a one-goal margin on three occasions―twice against San Marino, widely regarded as one of the worst teams in the world, and once against Moldova, who aren’t much better. However, they have lost just once (against Sweden), winning nine matches and drawing five. That need for creativity and goals hasn’t been helped by the withdrawals of five players through injury―captain Steven Gerrard, Andy Carroll, Jack Wilshere, Tom Cleverley and also Kyle Walker.
Chelsea’s Frank Lampard will captain the side. In England’s 2-1 win over Brazil last month they gave a good account of themselves. Theo Walcott excelled in flashes, Wayne Rooney scored his 33rd international goal and Frank Lampard delivered a wonderful reminder of his enduring talents with a beautifully taken winner.
That victory for England over Brazil was the Three Lions’ first win over the Brazilians in 23 years. England are ranked ninth in the FIFA world rankings while Brazil have dropped down to an all time low of 19th. With Rooney eager to put club frustrations behind him and players such as Lampard, Michael Carrick and Daniel Sturridge all in fine form, England should have enough to win narrowly.
