England v Brazil: Classic matches

Despite being two of the game’s historical powerhouses, Brazil and England haven’t faced off in all that many competitive fixtures.

Nevertheless when the two sides do meet, be it in a friendly or a World Cup, we often see magical moments - and the odd infamous moment - that are remembered and relived for generations.

Ahead of their upcoming friendly, we’ve looked back at some of the most memorable moments and fixtures between England and Brazil.

1970 – Brazil 1-0 England

Where better to start than the 1970 World Cup? The defending champions against one of the greatest sides to have played the game who would go on to win the tournament.

The game finished 1-0 to Brazil, but 65,000+ fans in Guadelajara saw two of the most iconic moments in World Cup history.

First, the greatest save: with Jairzinho striding down the wing and stretching to clip a cross high into the area, with a spring-heeled Pele rising highest, powering a header into the bottom corner. Remarkably, Gordon Banks would get down and claw the ball out of the goalmouth, producing a save which Pele himself described as ‘impossible’.

Second, the greatest tackle: with Jairzinho again in full flow, staring down Bobby Moore and entering the penalty area, Moore backed off and backed off, perfectly picking his moment to go to ground and pinch the ball away from the Brazilian’s toes. The slightest imperfection in technique or timing would’ve resulted in a certain penalty, but Moore won the ball and launched a counter attack.

As good as Banks’s save was, Moore’s tackle might have been better.

1984 – Brazil 0-2 England

It’s easy to split past Brazil teams into three distinct eras: there was the golden era from 1958-1970, where the Selecao won three World Cups, inspired by Pele, Vava, Garrincha, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto, Tostao and more. There was the resurgent era from 1994-2002, where Brazil won two more World Cups and made another final, with the likes of Ronaldo, Romario, Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho. But in between were the wilderness years.

After 1970, Brazil appeared at five World Cups without so much as reaching a final, never mind winning one. That’s not to say, however, that there weren’t great Brazil teams in those years. In the 1980s, Brazil were blessed with more superstars including Zico, Socrates, Eder and Falcao.

And for the CBF’s 70th anniversary in 1984, England were invited to the Maracana for a friendly as part of a South American tour, and while England were only there on account of missing out on Euro 84, it would see one of the Three Lions’ all-time great goals.

On the stroke of half-time, with the game 0-0, a 20-year-old John Barnes received the ball on the left wing. Opting not to go outside onto his preferred right foot, Barnes darted inside, beating one, beating two, beating three, before sitting goalkeeper Roberto Costa down and slotting home.

Not satisfied with a goal, Barnes lofted a cross into the back post in the second half with Mark Hateley scoring the second as England would beat Brazil 2-0 in the Maracana.

2002 – England 1-2 Brazil

England and Brazil met at the 1958, 1962 and 1970 World Cups (incidentally, failing to win any), but had to wait 32 years to meet again at the tournament. Drawn in the ‘group of death’ a 0-0 draw with Nigeria in their final group game put England on a collision course with Brazil in the quarter-finals. Reeling from their 1998 defeat, Brazil had scores to settle.

England had a number of injury concerns ahead of the tournament, with Steven Gerrard and Gary Neville missing out through injury and David Beckham still nursing himself back to fitness after a broken foot – and it was the latter that proved costly.

After Michael Owen capitalised on a mistake to give England an unlikely lead, fans began to dream, but when Beckham – perhaps wanting to avoid reinjuring his foot – jumped out of a tackle just before half time, Brazil broke up the other end and scored through Rivaldo.

Ronaldinho, who’d laid on the first goal, scored the second, when his long-range free-kick caught David Seaman off guard to give Brazil the lead. Ronaldinho would be sent off for a studs-up challenge not long after, and though Brazil had to play more than half an hour with 10 men, the Selecao came through, going on to win the tournament.

1992 – England 1-1 Brazil

While the encounter may not have been a classic, it certainly contains one of the most infamous moments in England’s history.

After Sir Bobby Charlton scored his record-breaking England goal in 1970, nobody had ever got within spitting distance of the Manchester United forward… until Gary Lineker.

A career spanning eight years that saw Lineker win a World Cup Golden Boot brought the FA Cup winner within one of Charlton’s record.

Prior to Euro ’92, Lineker won a penalty against Brazil in a warm-up match. Stepping up to take it, Lineker attempted one of the worst Panenkas in history, keeping him on 48, where he’d forever remain.