Victory!

The value of England’s friendly win at Wembley is not so much it was over Brazil, who have slumped to an ignominious 18^th in the world, but over a Luiz Felipe Scolari side, of whom England had failed to prevail in three previous matches.  Scolari has been brought back as a proven winner (not that this helped Italy when they brought back 2006 World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi for the 2010 edition and went out in the group stages), despite the sniffiness that greeted his 2002 triumph.  Understandably and, more than the usual fervour, Brazil are desperate to lift the Jules Rimet trophy in 2014 as it is a home World Cup. Scolari had not much time before tonight to meld the individuals into a cohesive unit (which they patently have not been) but it is a win over Scolari all the same.  And it is nice to beat Brazil for the first time since 1990, a lovely way to commemorate 150 years of The Football Association.