Ox and Rooney to the rescue as England hold classy Brazil

Brazil 2 England 2

After toiling against Brazil’s dash and panache, two moments of brilliance saw England take an unlikely lead before Paulinho’s excellent volley gave the hosts a draw at the reopening of their famous stadium.

The strikes by Oxlade-Chamberlain and Rooney, following Fred’s opener for the home side, were not quite of the same standard as John Barnes’ legendary solo goal in this stadium 29 years ago. Nevertheless they will provide much-needed encouragement for Hodgson ahead of the autumn’s World Cup qualifiers.

Meanwhile, the USA earned a 4-3 win over Germany in a thrilling game in Washington DC. Jozy Altidore gave the hosts the lead before Marc-Andre ter Stegen scored an embarrassing own goal. Heiko Westermann pulled a goal back for Germany, but Clint Dempsey struck twice in four minutes to make it four for the hosts. Max Kruse and Julian Draxler made things interesting with late goals, but the USA held on for victory.