Here is Louise Taylor’s report from the Riverside ...
Thanks for joining me.
My level of chat ...
...they’ve been on the journey with me. Everyone’s saying I need a new chant now I’m finally here, but as long as they keep supporting me I am happy with that.”
— Suzy Wrack (@SuzyWrack) October 5, 2019
Neville did not look too happy after the game ...
Here is Beth England scoring for England
A first #Lionesses goal for @Bethany_Eng15, but Brazil hold on for the win.
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) October 5, 2019
Next up: we head to 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/YW3FRMV3MF
Obviously, there is plenty more football to come today. Why not move over to our LIVE clockwatch, which I will be manning from 4pm (someone is currently manning it, don’t worry).
You can see that England miss Ellen White, who is a proper finisher and it far more ruthless than Taylor. She could be back for the next round of international friendlies, which would be a welcome boost for everyone.
A pretty positive spin there from the lad Phil. He is relying on luck rather than competence it seems.
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Neville: “You know what? When we went to Norway and Belgium you thought that’s nowhere near the level but that’s the performance of a top, top team and we got punished for two lapses in concentration. We’re in a period where things aren’t going for us, when maybe they were 12 months ago.
“I can look my players in the eye and they can look me in the eye and say they had a good game of football today.
“We didn’t deserve to lose.”
Neville is on on giving the players a talking to on the pitch. One can only assume he’s explaining that scoring goals matters.
The negatives: Earps’ error, the inability to stop the cross for the second and some pretty pathetic finishing.
The positives: England’s impact off the bench, ability to create chances
Full-time: England 1-2 Brazil
If we’re being positive, it’s a chance for England to learn the valuable lesson that if you do not take your chances, you will be punished. They had so many chances in the first half they should have won it at a canter but instead they were punished by Debinha’s two finishes. It’s five games without a win for England now and another underwhelming performance as Neville continues to ponder what his best team is.
90 mins: Bloomin’ heck! Greenwood causes panic in the box with a cross from the left which goes over England and the onrushing goalkeeper, allowing Staniforth to head it towards an empty net, only to see Barbara backtrack to claw it away.
88 mins: Brazil are just looking to kill time here, knocking it around as slowly as they can to ensure they keep possession.
85 mins: Mead chips the ball over the Brazil defence, England runs onto it and dives to make contact with the ball but it just glances off the top of her head and into Barbara’s arms.
84 mins: Bronze wins England a corner. Greenwood whips in the set-piece right on top of the goalkeeper who does well to get a fist on it under her own crossbar to clear the danger.
82 mins: England scoring for England is what we all want to see. She took her first chance after Taylor spent the game fluffing her lines.
GOAL! England 1-2 Brazil (England, 80)
The substitution makes the difference as Houghton hits a long, straight ball into the box for England to attack and the striker picks out the top corner from around the penalty spot.
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79 mins: Mead does well once again down the left but her final product falls well short as she dinks it, once again, into Barbara’s hands.
77 mins: Brazil are just passing it around some lethargic England players. Sue Smith on commentary says it’s “flat” and it really is. Daly lifts a cross straight into the goalkeeper’s arms. Nothing to see here.
England 0-2 Brazil
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75 mins: England are currently going through the motions in a match they have lost. What a spectacle.
73 mins: England is coming on for England, which is a fine moment for headline writers.
71 mins: It’s a good job England sold all of those tickets to the Germany game before this performance as it would not encourage many to attend.
A couple more changes for Brazil as Milene and Thaisa come on.
69 mins: England are paying for the price for having a complete inability to finish in this game. These recent friendlies have been poor from England and despite looking like they should be ahead in this game, they now face an uphill struggle to get anything from this.
GOAL! England 0-2 Brazil (Debinha, 67)
A low cross from the right finds its way to Debinha in the centre who strikes it first time from the six yards out, it deflects off Bronze and loops over Earps. Greenwood really should have done more to stop the cross. What a miserable day this is for England.
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65 mins: Daly goes into the book after losing the ball and trying to make up for it by diving into a challenge with Zaneretto but getting nowhere near the ball.
63 mins: Daly flicks a pass onto Taylor who heads the ball ahead of her but it just gets too far away from the striker and Barbara comes out to smother it.
61 mins: England have barely created a chance since the break, which is surprising considering they had eight shots in the first half.
Brazil almost worked an opening for a second as Debinha glides past Williamson following a quick one-two, only for Bronze to read the danger and nip in.
Taylor clips the ball into Parris’ feet but she cannot control it and her first touch ends up in Barbara’s hands.
England 0-1 Brazil
59 mins: It looks like Parris has replaced Nobbs in the centre and Daly is now on the right wing.
57 mins: It’s fantastic that England want to play out from the back but it is reliant on them moving the Brazil players around, if there’s no movement and the passing takes place at a snail’s pace, then they will not cause issues. The last two attacks have come from the full-backs finding space going round the outside.
Nobbs exits and Daly comes on.
55 mins: Brazil have looked brighter since making their half-time changes and England have just failed to raise their game to match the increased intensity.
53 mins: A corner is lifted into the box by Luana and Ludmila wins the header at the front post but flicks it over. England look a little panicked now. Down the other end, Nobbs hits a tame shot from the edge of the area straight at the goalkeeper.
51 mins: England need to get back to how they were playing in the first half after that blow.
GOAL! England 0-1 Brazil (Debinha, 49)
England are punished for their inability to score, as Tamires turns Parris inside and out on the left flank before chipping a cross ion Debinha’s head, allowing her to direct the ball on goal and it goes under Earps who should have done better.
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47 mins: Walsh lifts the ball out to Mead who lays it off to Greenwood to lift a high cross into the box, it’s headed down by a defender straight into the path of Bronze who hits the bouncing ball straight at Barbara.
Second-half
Here we go again!
England are unchanged, while Brazil have brought on Maria, Ludmila, Monica. Marta one of the players to depart.
“Now I want to see goals. We should be three or four goals up!” Neville tells it how it is.
Here is Beth Mead doing extremely well until the finish ...
SO CLOSE 😱@bmeado9 beating her defender and putting it narrowly wide! pic.twitter.com/19EVmwB9wP
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) October 5, 2019
According to the stats, England have enjoyed 61% possession, which I feel is remarkably low. From that they have mustered three shots on target to Brazil’s one.
There were 31,000 tickets sold for today’s game. Carly Telford is surprised people are interested in the England team after the World Cup.
Half-time: England 0-0 Brazil
The hosts really should be winning, if not out of sight. England have completely dominated the opening 45 minutes and had more than enough chances to be ahead but have lacked composure in front of goal. Brazil have no tested Earps and have looked relatively awful at the back.
45 mins: Just one minute added on.
44 mins: Walsh shoes what she is capable of with a cross-field ball to Parris who just can’t catch it but it was a lovely pass.
42 mins: Nobbs whacks a low cross towards Mead who can only get her studs onto it. The winger complains she was pulled back but the referee isn’t interested.
Jonathan Pearce and Sue Smith are currently discussing what they drank last night, which is a sign that nothing has happening the last couple of minutes. No brandy for me, sadly.
40 mins: Walsh’s passing ability and Scott’s desire to break up play seems like a good combination but it is the latter having the most influence on this game, which is a concern considering how much of the ball England have had.
England 0-0 Brazil
38 mins: Mead gets the ball stuck under her feet and but digs it out and goes through Giovanna who pulls her back for no reason whatsoever. Greenwood once again whips in the free-kick, it’s a lovely cross but Tamires clears it for a throw.
36 mins: Greenwood whips in the cross after some funky set-piece work - it is cleared but the referee blows for a foul on the goalkeeper. What a waste of two minutes.
34 mins: Nobbs sends Parris to chase a ball into the corner, she reaches it but is then tripped by Marta, who is harshly booked for the challenge.
32 mins: Nobbs, who has failed to into the game, tries to beat a couple of players on the edge of the area but is crowded out and Brazil get the ball quickly down the other end where a dangerous cross is put into the box but it defeats everyone.
30 mins: England have dominated the match here but have lacked the requisite composure in front of goal. Brazil’s defence looks pretty ropey, to be honest, too. If England do not win this it will be concerning.
28 mins: Parris sends a through ball, which a defender mishits and it goes through for Taylor to latch onto but the striker takes too many touches when one-on-one and eventually tries to chip Barbara but sends it well over. I do not have a clue how England are not ahead in this.
26 mins: England really should be in front as Mead collects a long diagonal pass from Houghton, darts into the box, beats two defenders but then passes the ball beyond the far post from just five yards out. Not a great finish from Mead but some wonderful play to get into that position.
24 mins: Bronze sends Formiga over with an outstretched leg. The resulting free-kick is whipped into the box by Marta but Greenwood is first to it.
England 0-0 Brazil
22 mins: England in red against Brazil in their traditional yellow and blue reminds me of the early 1990s, when life seemed so much simpler. Someone not enjoying life right now is Parris who is caught on the top of her foot by 41-year-old Formiga. The England player gets to her feet and seems OK, which is good news.
20 mins: More troubles at the back for Brazil as Barbara keeps hold of the ball for too long before toe poking it straight to Parris while under pressure from Taylor. Fortunately for Brazil danger is averted when the winger’s cross is diverted behind.
18 mins: Brazil work their way into the box and the ball is laid off into the path of Debinha who fires a shot towards the bottom corner only to see Houghton stood in the perfect position to whack it clear.
16 mins: Brazil are almost caught out at the back when Parris drills at shot at goal which Barbara palms out into the danger area, only for a defender to pass it back to the goalkeeper for some reason or other. In the end they do get the ball clear but they are lucky to do so.
14 mins: Taylor finds space down the left and sends a low cross into the box but Barbara gobbles it up. Some nice play between Nobbs and Parris results in a cross into the box being knocked down by Mead to Taylor but Brazil react and clear.
England 0-0 Brazil.
12 mins: Parris is the next to test Barbara, powerfully heading a deep cross towards goal at the back post but it’s straight at the goalkeeper. Still goalless at the Riverside but England are certainly on top.
10 mins: NO GOAL! Mead chips in a cross from the right, which Taylor nudges it towards goal from six yards out, Barbara saves but the striker not knocks in the rebound, only to see the flag aloft. It is a tight call but just about right.
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8 mins: Luana lumps a free-kick into the England box but it goes over everyone in a yellow shirt and the England defence mop up at the back post. England are trying to play out from the back and Brazil are letting them and it almost costs them, as the hosts get the ball up the pitch to Mead, who gets round the full-back and sends a cross for Parris to attack but Tamires just beats her to it and turns it behind for a corner which comes to nothing.
6 mins: Some direct play from England ends with Parris knocking a high ball down for Taylor but Barbara comes off her line quickly and removes the danger 25 yards from her own goal before Taylor can pounce.
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4 mins: Walsh strikes a shot with plenty of zip from a central position around 20 yards but she drags it just wide. Down the other end Zaneratto dribbles into the box and finds enough space to dig out a shot but it’s straight at Earps who takes it easily.
2 mins: England are on the front foot and Brazil have barely had a touch so far. Parris almost gets played in but the defence just about cut it out before the situation gets too dangerous.
Kick-off!
Peep! Peep! Peep! Let’s get ready to rumble.
Lots of flags being waved around the stands, which are filling up nicely. Lucy Bronze collects a couple of awards from Baroness Campbell and her family.
Neville has been committed to tinkering since the World Cup, which has included four games without a win. This team looks pretty strong to be fair and England’s recent history has been impressive.
Jordan Nobbs is back, which is good. Suzanne Wrack wrote about her return.
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What can we learn about England today? Will Houghton and Williamson be a good partnership? How much was Nobbs missed during the World Cup? Is Earps ready to be the No 1? I will almost certainly not have the answers by the end but we can all look out for them.
This England team is inspirational, according to Big Phil.
Phil Neville looks pretty happy to be in Middlesbrough.
Starting lineups
England: Earps; Bronze, Houghton, Williamson, Greenwood; Nobbs, Scott, Walsh; Parris, Taylor, Mead
Brazil: Barbara; Giovanna, Kathellen, Erika, Tamires; Debinha, Luana, Formiga, Marta; Chu, Bia Zaneratto
Preamble
Will will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Phil Neville:
Phil Neville has praised the solidarity that exists between women athletes after seeing his England squad watch the heroics of Dina Asher-Smith and Katarina Johnson-Thompson. “What I find really inspiring is that Monday night was the Manchester United v Arsenal game for instance, that’s on in the background and we all have a laugh about it; Spurs v Bayern on Tuesday; the minute that a female athlete comes on, Dina Asher-Smith and Katarina Johnson-Thompson, they all get excited because that is their inspiration,” Neville said.
“They’re fighting together. That’s inspiring for them. The gold medal that KJT won – they have a different sensation. My sister [former England netball head coach Tracey Neville] came to camp on Tuesday – there is a connection between women in sport, a ‘we’ve broken down these barriers ourselves and we’re going to take on the world ourselves and when one of us wins we all win’.
“That is the connection I have found over the last 18 months. Chelsea can win the league title in the men’s game and the Chelsea girls are happy. But when England win at netball, they all celebrate together. It’s almost like a pack of wolves fighting together.”
Suzanne Wrack’s full piece is here.
Kick-off at the Riverside: 12.45pm BST.
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