England’s defeat to Brazil was no bad thing

I am finding it difficult to support the negative observations in the media regarding England’s 1-0 defeat against Brazil.  Yes, England were outplayed, outfought and outclassed by a Brazil team who rarely left second gear.  Yes, we will need most of, if not all our first eleven available, to have any chance of success in South Africa next year. And yes, should we line up against Brazil at any stage, we will have to be significantly better than we were on Saturday to progress.

That said, I still feel there are positives to draw from the encounter.  Firstly, although the performance may have been a little lacklustre, at least the score line was no embarrassment.  People argue “but it could have been.”  Well, it wasn’t. Ben Foster would have been dismissed had this been a competitive game, and who knows, Luis Fabiano may have converted his penalty in a different scenario. 

However, James Milner had a promising night, and Shaun Wright-Phillips briefly demonstrated his ability to take players on with the ball at his feet Brazil style in the second half.  The match also revealed at least one player who has well and truly had his day in an England shirt, as Wes Brown confirmed once again that he adds nothing to the squad.

 A game against Brazil is also beneficial from the viewpoint that it keeps feet on the ground just months before a major tournament.  Just what purpose would a friendly against a lowly- ranked nation serve at this stage?  England qualified their group with ease, and in particular the two demolitions of Croatia could have lead to the sort of inflated attitude to which we as a nation seem to approach every major competition. 

Capello has revealed himself to be a ‘one-step-at-a-time’ sort of manager, highlighted by his recent decision to cancel a party planned to celebrate England confirming their place at the World Cup.  In this he is completely right.  What have we won so far?  Nothing.  And self-praise, overconfidence and premature back-slapping can only prove detrimental to our aspirations.  

Every England fan acknowledges that Wayne Rooney more than likely holds the key to our hopes next summer.  He appears to have matured from the volatile, childish forward who would have you wincing every time a challenge went in on him, in case he turned around and sparked out the assailant.  He is probably the only player technically gifted enough to inspire us to a win against the likes of Brazil and Spain.  The concern will be that that the service to him is sufficient to provide him with the half chance we know requires.  This has to be the main worry, as Capello’s midfield looks to be his most undecided area of the team.

The issue that did alarm me during the game was the affect the intense heat is likely to have on England’s players during the competition.  Lethargic would be a polite way to describe the look of some of the team, and this was especially disconcerting given the fact that of the eleven out there, at least 9 still have a point to prove.  Surely a bit more effort wouldn’t have killed them especially given that there were 6 substitutes available.  But perhaps their reserve was at the request of their club managers, and the club v country row is a debate for another time.                   

Mike Dicker