YOU would not have put much money on a second successive Wembley goalless draw.
Yet Neymar and the rest of Brazil’s stars arrived at Wembley but could not find a way past Gareth Southgate’s side in a friendly which featured a terrific atmosphere.
There were not too many chances but Southgate will have been happy with the performance, particularly from his three-man defence, not that strikers Jamie Vardy and Marcus Rashford had any chances.
Neymar, the world’s most expensive player, got the crowd excited with some tricks and flicks but ultimately, the home side – who drew 0-0 with Germany on Friday – stood firm.
Liverpool’s Joe Gomez played well in that three-man defence on his full debut while Dom Solanke made his first senior appearance off the bench.
At times, Brazil were outstanding to watch but they were continually caught offside.
England had to reshuffle after 34 minutes when Ruben Loftus-Cheek, man-of-the-match against Germany, was replaced by Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard.
Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho had the best chance of the match, a minute inside the second half following a pass from Neymar, but Joe Hart did well to save with his legs.
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Jake Livermore and Dani Alves had brief bust-up but the game was generally played in a good manner, even though not that much happened.
Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho went close with an effort which hit the outside of the post.
Sub Ashley Young delivered a fine block to deny Willian late on in his first appearance for England for four years.
But it could have been debutant Dominic Solanke who could have sealed a famous win, but he was denied in the 89th minute by Alisson Ramses Becker from close range.
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