RIO DE JANEIRO: If back-heeled flicks, classy side kicks and 62%
possession of the ball means victory, Brazil were the clear winners at
the New Maracana stadium on Sunday evening.
But since football is all about something mundane called goals, their match against England -- the first international game at the refurbished stadium -- ended in a 2-2 draw, with both the teams sending the ball into their rivals' net twice in the second half.
While the scoreline may give an impression of a tough fight between two equally good sides, the match was almost one-sided, especially in the first half, but the Brazilians squandered at least half-a-dozen chances to beat Joe Hart, the English goalkeeper.
Playing an open and attacking football, the Brazilians tore through the English defence a number of times, only to falter in front of Hart who had his hands full in the first 45 minutes of the game.
On the other side, Brazilian goalkeeper Julius Caesar was tested just once in the first half as it took the English team more than 25 minutes of the game to enter the Brazilian penalty area, and that too when James Milner chased down a Thiago Silva clearance which had just bounced towards Caesar.
With close to 70,000 spectators -- 95% of them Brazilians -- packed into the historical stadium, the home team scattered the English midfield with their attacks as Dani Alves and Luis Filipe moved up front. But the English defence was solid and good marking by their defenders made it difficult for the Brazilian midfielder to feed the ball to their strikers, Fred and Neymar who were both lurking near the penalty area.
Brazil had their first good chance in the 20th minute when Neymar got the ball inside the England penalty area but the striker, playing in the number 10 shirt for the first time, failed to find the right spot. Five minutes later, the Barcelona-bound player dribbled his way into the English area but kicked the ball wide off the mark.
With Neymar marked tightly, Oscar began to move up the flanks and the Chelsea player almost scored from the edge of the English penalty area in the 35th minute but his stinging shot was blocked by Hart and there was no one to tap the rebound.
Soon after in the 39th minute, the English team had their only real chance of the first half when a dangerous looking Theo Walcott entered the Brazilian area and sent a low shot towards the goal but Julio Cesar did well to deny the English player the honour of scoring the first goal at the New Maracana.
That honour was reserved for Fred who opened the score for Brazil in the second half. Carrying on the momentum of the first half, Brazil substituted Luis Filipe and Luiz Gustavo with Marcelo and Hernanes in the break and their four forwards moved into the English area like waves.
In the 56th minute, a Hernanes' shot hit the crossbar and the ball fell right in front of Fred, who slipped the ball past Hart, making the score 1-0. But the euphoria that gripped the Maracana after the first goal didn't last long as in a counter attack led by Frank Lampard and finished by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from the edge of the penalty area, the English side made it 1-1. English coach Roy Hodgson's ploy of bringing the young attacker in place of Glen Johnson worked, and suddenly the visitors found their rhythm.
In the 77th minute, a hush fell over the Maracana as Wayne Rooney, who had mostly kept quiet during the game, sent a scorcher into the right corner of the Brazilian goal.
With the scoreline reading 2-1 in favour of England, just when it began to appear that the worst team of the day may end up as the winner, Lucas, who was brought in place of Oscar, sent a pinpoint cross to Paulinho inside the penalty area and the Corinthians player volleyed the ball into the England goal. In the 83rd minute of the game, the score read 2-2.
In the last seven minutes, the Brazilians tried to breach the English defence a few times but without success. And the whole stadium missed a collective heartbeat when an England counter-attack in the dying minutes of the game almost resulted in a goal.
England had beaten Brazil 2-1 in a friendly in London in February. A repeat of that score at the Maracana would have been a tragedy. In the 90 minutes that the two teams were on the pitch of New Maracana, the Mecca of Football, Brazil outplayed England completely.
With their sloppy passing and ordinary attacks, England didn't deserve to win this friendly. And Brazil, which showed many flashes of the magic they are known for, didn't deserve to lose.
In the end, as goals are the only thing that matter in modern football, 2-2 seemed like a fair score.
But since football is all about something mundane called goals, their match against England -- the first international game at the refurbished stadium -- ended in a 2-2 draw, with both the teams sending the ball into their rivals' net twice in the second half.
While the scoreline may give an impression of a tough fight between two equally good sides, the match was almost one-sided, especially in the first half, but the Brazilians squandered at least half-a-dozen chances to beat Joe Hart, the English goalkeeper.
Playing an open and attacking football, the Brazilians tore through the English defence a number of times, only to falter in front of Hart who had his hands full in the first 45 minutes of the game.
On the other side, Brazilian goalkeeper Julius Caesar was tested just once in the first half as it took the English team more than 25 minutes of the game to enter the Brazilian penalty area, and that too when James Milner chased down a Thiago Silva clearance which had just bounced towards Caesar.
With close to 70,000 spectators -- 95% of them Brazilians -- packed into the historical stadium, the home team scattered the English midfield with their attacks as Dani Alves and Luis Filipe moved up front. But the English defence was solid and good marking by their defenders made it difficult for the Brazilian midfielder to feed the ball to their strikers, Fred and Neymar who were both lurking near the penalty area.
Brazil had their first good chance in the 20th minute when Neymar got the ball inside the England penalty area but the striker, playing in the number 10 shirt for the first time, failed to find the right spot. Five minutes later, the Barcelona-bound player dribbled his way into the English area but kicked the ball wide off the mark.
With Neymar marked tightly, Oscar began to move up the flanks and the Chelsea player almost scored from the edge of the English penalty area in the 35th minute but his stinging shot was blocked by Hart and there was no one to tap the rebound.
Soon after in the 39th minute, the English team had their only real chance of the first half when a dangerous looking Theo Walcott entered the Brazilian area and sent a low shot towards the goal but Julio Cesar did well to deny the English player the honour of scoring the first goal at the New Maracana.
That honour was reserved for Fred who opened the score for Brazil in the second half. Carrying on the momentum of the first half, Brazil substituted Luis Filipe and Luiz Gustavo with Marcelo and Hernanes in the break and their four forwards moved into the English area like waves.
In the 56th minute, a Hernanes' shot hit the crossbar and the ball fell right in front of Fred, who slipped the ball past Hart, making the score 1-0. But the euphoria that gripped the Maracana after the first goal didn't last long as in a counter attack led by Frank Lampard and finished by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from the edge of the penalty area, the English side made it 1-1. English coach Roy Hodgson's ploy of bringing the young attacker in place of Glen Johnson worked, and suddenly the visitors found their rhythm.
In the 77th minute, a hush fell over the Maracana as Wayne Rooney, who had mostly kept quiet during the game, sent a scorcher into the right corner of the Brazilian goal.
With the scoreline reading 2-1 in favour of England, just when it began to appear that the worst team of the day may end up as the winner, Lucas, who was brought in place of Oscar, sent a pinpoint cross to Paulinho inside the penalty area and the Corinthians player volleyed the ball into the England goal. In the 83rd minute of the game, the score read 2-2.
In the last seven minutes, the Brazilians tried to breach the English defence a few times but without success. And the whole stadium missed a collective heartbeat when an England counter-attack in the dying minutes of the game almost resulted in a goal.
England had beaten Brazil 2-1 in a friendly in London in February. A repeat of that score at the Maracana would have been a tragedy. In the 90 minutes that the two teams were on the pitch of New Maracana, the Mecca of Football, Brazil outplayed England completely.
With their sloppy passing and ordinary attacks, England didn't deserve to win this friendly. And Brazil, which showed many flashes of the magic they are known for, didn't deserve to lose.
In the end, as goals are the only thing that matter in modern football, 2-2 seemed like a fair score.
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