Gareth Southgate drew attention to his England players at the beginning of the week. Remember the last time the country faced Brazil was November 2017, the coach said; In fact, it was the only time they did this during his seven-and-a-half-year tenure. It was a friendly at Wembley, it finished 0-0 and the truth was it looked more like a win.
What Southgate wanted to highlight to his team was the world ranking at the time; England were in 12th place; Brazil finished second and how everything changed when another spectacle unfolded at Wembley on Saturday night. Now it is England who can underestimate Brazil. They are third on the list; The five-time world champions are fifth.
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“Every time I talk to the team I try to get them excited about the game ahead and challenge them,” Southgate said. “Also give them credit for the progress they have made as a group. We have overcome many obstacles and created a significant history of breaking some of the fixtures that have been obstacles over the years. I have read that we have only beaten Brazil four times in 26 matches, which is another point for us to take.” It’s a big challenge.”
John Stones remembers the 2017 clash and especially the atmosphere in the dressing room. He was one of five players named in the squad for this latest assignment – the others being Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire, Joe Gomez and Marcus Rashford – and Stones specifically speaks of the evolution in maturity and belief.
“To some extent, we didn’t realize or believe enough at that point that we were better than them,” he said. “But given the players we have now and the experience we’ve had (being in finals, winning trophies, going through tough experiences), I feel like we’re going into this game with the utmost confidence that we can come out victorious.
“I feel a real sense of humility that we are confident; We are not arrogant. We are excited and believe we can win against the best. We’ve been talking about joining that elite group for years. [being] The number 1 team in the world. So this is a great test for us. We played in the final of the last European Championship, we had the semi-final of the World Cup in 2018 and we had real belief in the Qatar World Cup in 2022. [when they reached the quarter-final]. “I feel like it’s time for us to move forward and achieve something.”
The Football Association has booked the Brazil game and next Tuesday’s game against Belgium at Wembley to allow Southgate to make the best possible arrangements for the European Championship in the summer. There would be little point in outplaying low-quality opposition.
Brazil is steeped in history and magnificence, the iconic yellow shirts synonymous with elegance they will not wear at Wembley, opting for the change stripes in blue and white. It should be said that England has patented the shirt debate in the last 24 hours and Brazil is at a low level.
As Dorival Júnior prepares for his first match as manager, Vote They are mired in an existential crisis, there are intense questions about identity, the Brazilians have a hard time seeing themselves in the team, there is a gulf between them and the players.
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The country’s stars are at European clubs – far away, disconnected – and Brazil have started their South American World Cup qualifying campaign with three defeats in six draws; They are in sixth place in the rankings. Dorival also has a lot of injuries; especially in Alisson, Ederson, Marquinhos, Éder Militão, Casemiro and Neymar.
Southgate would certainly want to face a full-strength Brazil and he would certainly want to field his best XI. Frustratingly, this isn’t possible; Southgate describes the number of players missing through injury as “undoubtedly the highest we have ever had”.
It was hard to avoid focusing on who wasn’t available. The absence of Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka means the front three are much weaker, while the absence of Luke Shaw is bad at the moment and is likely to be even worse in the Euros; The left-back is rated touch-and-go. The loss of Shaw left the team without impetus and balance, and this was compounded by the exclusion of Kieran Trippier.
Southgate also faces a midfield headache; He might look to test Trent Alexander-Arnold alongside Declan Rice, with Kalvin Phillips not being an option due to his poor form. Alexander-Arnold has played in Southgate’s midfield six times but never against higher-ranked opposition than Australia. However, he is injured and Jordan Henderson is unavailable.
Stones, who has excelled in a hybrid role at Manchester City, was asked if he would like to play in the England midfield. “One hundred percent…I would love to do that,” he replied. “I didn’t talk about it [with Southgate]. Gareth knows how he wants to play, he knows everyone’s qualities, my qualities and he watches the games a lot. So if he has that idea, obviously I’d love to do it. “Maybe it’s something we can talk about in the future, I’m not sure.”
Southgate needs Stones in central defense and it is clear there will be opportunities for other players including Gomez, Ben Chilwell, Conor Gallagher, Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney. Southgate wants to overcome another hurdle. The big picture is inevitable.