England, Brazil stalemate
Tite came through his first European test as Brazil coach and was surprised at the resilience of an inexperienced England side.
“They were like ice,” Tite said after Brazil was held 0-0 at Wembley Stadium yesterday. “They were really cold and never lost their minds.”
England had also stayed cool last Friday against another of the world’s leading teams when Germany were held to a scoreless draw in north London.
“They won’t face a more difficult test than in the last two matches,” England coach Gareth Southgate said. “I’m probably more proud tonight because we played the best team in the world with a full team out. We’ve come out with a really credible result.”
In a friendly of few chances in front of 84,595 fans at Wembley Stadium, the closest England and Brazil came to breaking the deadlock came in the final 15 minutes.
A long-range strike from Fernandinho shaved the post and Neymar fed Paulinho, who was denied at the near post by England goalkeeper Joe Hart.
“We were playing the best team in the world at the moment. I thought they were brilliant,” Hart said. “They made it really hard for us and we had to adapt on the pitch ... the defensive backline were absolutely phenomenal tonight.”
It was the final game of the year for England and Brazil, which are now waiting to see who they will be paired with at the 2018 World Cup when the draw takes place next month.