The Brazil vs England friendly held on June 2, 2013 at the Maracana Stadium played up to its hype. The stadium was in great form, the stands were colored in Brazil’s bright yellow uniform, and the game was a tactical success. Although the game ended 2-2 for the ‘verde-amarelha-, they were able to rescue of what would have been a sad ‘Maracanaso’ just days before the opening of the Confederations Cup 2013.
The Brazil vs England friendly marked the first game played at the mystical Estadio do Maracana since its remodelling for the Confederations Cup and next year’s World Cup. Brazil dominated for great parts of the match, however they were unable to triumph over a strong England goalkeeper and defense. The first goal of the match came in the 57th minute for Brazil after Fred took a rebound from an amazing shot which bounced off the top post. Ten minutes later in the 67th, England tied the score after a brilliant playmaking run by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
At that point, the game began to slow down as both teams made numerous substitutions. In the 79th minute Wayne Rooney scored a wonder goal after a shot to the right top corner. Everything seemed as if England were going to come out with a memorable win, but Brazil held on and in the 82th minute Paulinho scored the tying, and final 2-2 goal.
Overall, it was a good experience for both teams, and the stadium organization. During the week there was fear of the stadium’s insecurity, but everything played out fine. Brazil was able to obtain a positive score against a difficult rival just days before the start of the Confederations Cup 2013. And Neymar, the popular guy on the field, was difficult at times for the English defense, but at the end of the day he just had a regular performance.
