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England (4-2-3-1) Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Chilwell; Rice, Gallagher; Foden, Bellingham, Gordon, Watkins.
Substitutes: Bowen, Branthwaite, Dunk, Gomez, Johnstone, Konsa, Maddison, Mainoo, Ramsdale, Rashford, Toney.
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Brazil (possible 4-2-3-1) Bento; Danilo, Fabricio Bruno, Lucas Beraldo, Wendell; Joao Gomes, Bruno Guimaraes; Raphinha, Paqueta, Rodrygo; Vinicius Jr.
Subs: Rafael Monteiro, Leo Jardim, Murilo, Bremer, Richarlison, Yan Couto, Pepe, Andre Trindade, Douglas Luiz, Andreas Pereira, Savio, Endrick, Galeno, Ayrton Lucas, Pablo Maia.
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Referee Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)
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For the first time in living memory, England go into a match against Brazil as equals, arguably superiors. The Fifa rankings have England in third, two places above Brazil. It’s not that long since England players were likely to go a big, rubbery one at the sight of that famous yellow shirt, but it will be a surprise if they are awestruck tonight.
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A lot has changed since these teams last met – a 0-0 draw in 2017 when England were still finding their way under Gareth Southgate. Back then England were below Peru, Chile, Poland and others in the Fifa rankings. Now the only teams above them are Argentina and France. For those who grew up when England had one of the worst talk:walk ratios in international football, it’s all a bit confusing.
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Tonight’s match is the beginning of England’s build up to Euro 2024, a tournament they have a realistic chance of winning. Belgium also come to Wembley on Tuesday. England’s injury crisis has drained a bit of the excitement from two high-profile fixtures, although there is an upside of sorts. The absence of players like Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Trent Alexander-Arnold gives others the chance to push for a place in the squad, maybe even the first XI. We’ll have team news shortly.
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Kick off 7pm.
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important events
Read David Hytner’s preview
Gareth Southgate pre-match interview
they are different players [Watkins and Kane]Therefore, we need to understand how Olly plays and not ask him to do the same things as Harry.
what we want is [Anthony Gordon] To do what he has done for the club all season. He doesn’t need to do anything apart from that. He’s exciting with the ball, he scores goals, he works hard. I have to say that he has been training really well this past week. He seems to be with us forever. I think he’ll play really well tonight.
[How hard has it been to keep the noise about the kit and your future out] We are used to it! All we get is noise. We’re used to it, don’t worry. This international week has a lot to focus on, working from 6 a.m. to midnight. I don’t have time to work on other parts.
For me, the most important part of the England kit is the Three Lions. Your kit may or may not come with a St. George flag. In my mind, you can’t change the St. George flag. It’s white with a red cross, so anything else is artistic or whatever. It was far from my concentration.
Team news: Gordon and Watkins start
As expected, Anthony Gordon will make his international debut. Ollie Watkins will start up front in Harry Kane’s absence, with Kyle Walker captaining the team.
England (4-2-3-1) Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Chilwell. Rice, Gallagher. Foden, Bellingham, Gordon, Watkins.
Substitutes: Bowen, Branthwaite, Dunk, Gomez, Johnstone, Konsa, Maddison, Mainu, Ramsdale, Rashford, Toney.
Brazil (possible 4-2-3-1) Lunch box; Danilo, Fabricio Bruno, Lucas Berardo, Wendell. João Gomez, Bruno Guimarães. Rafinha, Paqueta, Rodrigo.Vinicius Jr.
Subs: Rafael Monteiro, Leo Jardim, Murillo, Bremer, Richarlison, Yan Couto, Pepe, Andre Trindade, Douglas Ruiz, Andreas Pereira, Savio, Endrik, Galeno, Ayrton Lucas, Pablo Maia.
referee Arthur Soares Dias (Portugal)
preamble
For the first time in living memory, England will go into a match against Brazil as equals, or perhaps even superiors. England are in third place in the FIFA rankings, two places ahead of Brazil. It wasn’t that long ago that England players were furious at the sight of the famous yellow shirt, but it would be surprising if they were in awe tonight.
A lot has changed since the last time these teams met, a 0-0 draw in 2017 when England were still looking to make progress under manager Gareth Southgate. At the time, England were ranked below Peru, Chile and Poland in the FIFA rankings. Currently, the only teams above them are Argentina and France. It’s a bit confusing for anyone who grew up in an era when England had one of the worst talk-to-walk ratios in international football.
Tonight’s match marks the start of England’s preparations for Euro 2024, where they have a realistic chance of winning. Belgium also come to Wembley on Tuesday. England’s injury crisis has dampened some of the excitement of two high-profile matches, but there are some positives. The absence of players like Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Trent Alexander-Arnold could give other players a chance to break into the squad, perhaps even the starting eleven. We will bring you team news soon.
kick off 7pm.
