International Football

An England friendly it might be, but no game involving the gold and blue of Brazil is ever without interest. That said, these Brazilians are far from a vintage crop – they’re currently ranked at eighteenth in Fifa’s world rankings. As we know, Fifa’s world rankings are a joke but even so, Brazil failed to get beyond the quarter finals in the last Copa America – an unimaginably poor effort by their usual standards.

With a home World Cup looming, Luiz Felipe Gonzales has been reappointed as manager and it’s fair to say that he’s got a job on. Still, even a poor Brazilian team will carry a huge threat: look out for Neymar – he’s a worse diver than Gareth Bale with a worse haircut than Marouane Chamakh, but he’s also a sublimely gifted young footballer and Brazil’s next big star. The other home nations are also in friendly action over on Sky Sports if the Three Lions don’t appeal.