England 1 Brazil 0: How Arsenal, Chelsea, QPR and Spurs stars rated

Wednesday, February 6, 2013
10:56 PM

How players from both sides rated.

JOE HART: Did well to save Ronaldinho’s penalty and did even better to save the rebound. 7.

GLEN JOHNSON: Superb as always going forward, but he also performed well to keep Ronaldinho and company at bay at the back, with the highlight being a goalline clearance to deny the former Barcelona man. 7.

GARY CAHILL: Put in two superb early tackles in a solid first half, but he was at fault for Brazil’s goal when he tried to dribble the ball out of defence. Almost made amends at the other end with a header that Julio Cesar saved well. 6.

CHRIS SMALLING: Solid for the majority of the game, but showed inexperience with a poor backpass that led to Fred hitting the bar. 6.

ASHLEY COLE: Bit a damp squid for the newly-crowned centurion. Sold Wayne Rooney short with his first pass and was given a torrid time by Oscar before being substituted at half-time. 5.

JACK WILSHERE: Lived up to the pre-match hype. Was his first start since the summer of 2011, but he showed maturity beyond his years. Added dynamism and energy to the midfield and was key to England’s second. Penalty decision against him was harsh. 9.

STEVEN GERRARD: Picked up where he left off in 2012. Mr Dependable in the centre of the park. Kept things ticking over and opened up the Brazil defence with his trademark carving passes. 7.

TOM CLEVERLEY: Great last-ditch challenge to stop Neymar from slotting home the penalty rebound. 7.

THEO WALCOTT: The closest thing to a Brazilian in the white jersey. Skipped in to the visitors box on several occasions with ease. Played his part in the run-up to both goals. 9.

WAYNE ROONEY: An effective battering ram against Brazil’s weak defence. Slotted home the first with ease - his 33rd goal for England - and played in Lampard for England’s second. 8.

DANNY WELBECK: A livewire performance on the left flank. Encouraging news for Roy Hodgson and Sir Alex Ferguson. 7.

SUBSTITUTES:

LEIGHTON BAINES (for Cole 45 mins): Upstaged Cole on his big night. Kept Oscar quieter and delivered a wicked cross that could have delivered a goal. 7.

FRANK LAMPARD (for Cleverley, 45 mins): Cracking finish for England’s second. Why Chelsea are happy to let a man of his talents leave for nothing is simply baffling. 7.

JAMES MILNER (for Welbeck, 60 mins): Typically industrious display. Gave England more steel when he came on. 6.

AARON LENNON (for Walcott, 75 mins): Had little opportunity to repeat the excellent form he has shown for Tottenham. 5.

BRAZIL:

JULIO CESAR: Could have done nothing about either goal. Spilled Gerrard’s shot in the second half but Luiz came in before Wilshere could shoot. Good save from Cahill header. 6.

DANI ALVES: Anonymous performance from the Barcelona full-back. 5.

DAVID LUIZ: Important challenge to deny Wilshere, but was otherwise second best in a lot of his battles. 5.

DANTE: Failed to stop the fiery attacks from England’s front line. 5.

RAMIRES: Another Brazilian who was out-done in the midfield battle. 6.

ADRIANO: His head will be spinning for a while after he performed poorly in trying to handle Walcott. 5.

OSCAR: The only England-based Brazilian who had any success. Fantastic pass for Neymar in the first half, but he blazed over. 7.

PAULINHO: Showed little to persuade Luiz Felipe Scolari that he could be a long-term option for Brazil. 5.

LUIS FABIANO: Failed where Fred succeeded in the second half. 5.

RONALDINHO: So much for the renaissance of the man who defeated England in 2002. Had the odd flash of brilliance, but his passing was wayward and lacked the pace to get in behind. Seemed more intent on showing off with his fancy footwork in the run up to his penalty than converting it. 4.

NEYMAR: Did little to convince England fans he is nothing but a YouTube sensation. Horrendously skied over Oscar’s pass from four yards. Missed rebound from Ronaldinho’s penalty. 5.

SUBSTITUTES:

FRED (for Luis Fabiano, 45 mins): Very effective. Scored equaliser after mistake by Cahill and also struck the bar. 7.

LUCAS (for Ronaldinho, 45 mins): Performed better than the man he replaced, but that was not hard. 6.

AROUCA (for Ramires, 45 mins): Same as above. 6.

JEAN (for Paulinho, 61 mins): Pressed the England midfield after his introduction. 6.

FILIPE LUIS (for Adriano, 69 mins): Tried, but like Adriano, failed to shackle Walcott. 5.

MIRANDA (for Luiz, 78 mins): Little time to make an impact . 5.