England v Brazil player ratings

ENGLAND V BRAZIL PLAYER RATINGS

ENGLAND:

DAVID SEAMAN: May have been struggling after picking up first-half knock as he was caught off his line to be beaten by Ronaldinho free-kick and had no chance with Rivaldo’s equaliser. His most forgettable game of the World Cup campaign. 6.

DANNY MILLS: Never allowed Roberto Carlos to get away down the left flank and got forward to support Beckham, even more so after Ronaldinho’s sending-off. 7.

ASHLEY COLE: Handled the threat of Cafu well and gave him little space to exploit, but that stopped him from getting forward too often. 7.

TREVOR SINCLAIR: Was unable to get forward as often as he would have liked, but found it difficult as Cole needed back-up to handle the runs of Cafu. 6.

RIO FERDINAND: Again looked composed on the ball and with his defensive duties to keep Brazil’s chances down to a minimum. 7.

SOL CAMPBELL: Along with Ferdinand was part of the reason that Ronaldo was taken off early during the second half, but still caused some anxious moments. 7

DAVID BECKHAM: Chased up and down the line, but was unable to have his usual effect on the game mainly because of the threat of Roberto Carlos. 7.

PAUL SCHOLES: Was always available to take the ball off his team-mates and looked good coming forward, but he found it difficult to make a telling final pass. 7.

MICHAEL OWEN: Struggled to get into the match and the only thing he really did was slot home England’s opening goal. 6.

EMILE HESKEY: The Liverpool target man had his best game of the World Cup so far and looked confident running at the Brazil defence, but he too was frustrated. 7.

NICKY BUTT: Competed well in the middle of the park, but was unable to exert the same authority which had served England so well in their earlier games. 7.

SUBSTITUTES:

KIERON DYER (ON FOR TREVOR SINCLAIR, 56 MINUTES): Saw plenty of ball down the left flank but was unable to get away from Cafu. 6.

DARIUS VASSELL (ON FOR MICHAEL OWEN 79 MINUTES): Never given the chance to save England with a late goal. 5.

TEDDY SHERINGHAM (ON FOR ASHLEY COLE 80 MINUTES): Could not produce the same kind of late heroics that he produced for Manchester United. 5.

BRAZIL:

MARCOS: Committed himself far too early for Michael Owen’s goal and never looked comfortable on crosses but was not tested enough. 6.

CAFU: Rarely caught out of position rarely and handled the threat of Trevor Sinclair well while getting forward to give Ashley Cole plenty of problems. 8.

LUCIO: Despite being Brazil’s best defender he made a terrible mistake to allow Owen to score, but made amends with some vital interceptions and tackles. 7.

ROQUE JUNIOR: Showed great awareness to step in and make some vital interceptions and was up to the task of a battle against Heskey and Owen. 7.

EDMILSON: Looked more comfortable going forward on the ball than he did when a forward was running at him. 7.

ROBERTO CARLOS: Looked a threat with his dynamite shooting and stuck close to Beckham throughout, but he never got past Mills on the overlap. 7.

GILBERTO SILVA: Battle well against Scholes and Butt and set up Brazil’s best forward moves. 7.

RONALDO: Had a quiet game by his own high standards, but always looked dangerous with the ball at his feet. 6.

RIVALDO: Coolly slotted home his side’s first-half equaliser and always looked dangerous with the ball at his feet. 8.

RONALDINHO: Made the pass for Rivaldo’s first-half equaliser and scored directly with a free-kick but was controversially sent off in the 57th minute. 7.

KLEBERSON: Was preferred to the more attacking option of Juninho and the moved worked. He showed some good touches and made some good tackles in midfield. 7.

SUBS:

EDILSON (ON FOR RONALDO 70 MINUTES): Looked useful but was never likely to get much of a chance with Brazil down to 10 men. 5.