I’ve gone a little mad this week and decided to scrawl together a match report based on the England match last night. Scribbled together with pen and paper last night, I’ve just finished typing it up. I’m hoping it’s not bad for a first attempt…

A second-half header by Nilmar saw an unfamiliar England line-up lose their friendly against Brazil 1-0 in the Qatari heat.

With an injury list which had been growing right up to the last minute with Michael Carrick picking up an ankle injury, Capello’s starting eleven of second (or even third) choices had done well to hold their own against the stylish Brazillians for the opening 45 minutes.

Two minutes after the restart, however, Matthew Upson and Wes Brown were caught out in defence by Nilmar who struck a convincing header past Ben Foster.

Brazil could have led by more, and Foster could have seen red after his Manchester United team mate Brown almost saw Nilmar through on goal again. The often under-fire keeper was lucky not to follow Rob Green on to the not-so-prestigious list of England keepers to be sent off and doubly lucky to see Luis Fabiano’s penalty sail high over the crossbar.

England had made a bright start with Shaun Wright-Phillips causing an early scare for the Brazilian defence in the first two minutes, making a convincing run down the right flank only to see his cross narrowly evade acting-captain Wayne Rooney.

Chances for England were few and far between, in the first half with Jermaine Jenas proving completely ineffective in midfield. Darren Bent will be left bitterly disappointed that he was unable to make an impact on Capello after a strong start to his Premier League campaign with Sunderland. A lack of service meant that he was never given the chance to prove himself a worthy partner to Rooney.

England tried hard for an equaliser, with wingers Wright-Phillips and Milner combining after 68 minutes, but Milner’s volley flew high and wide. A low shot from Rooney was easily stopped by Julio Cesar as the final whistle drew near, but though England kept pushing, in the end Brazil got the victory they deserved.

A 1-0 defeat against the best team in the world with your own second string side may look like a positive, but Capello will be hoping the rest of the Premier League season does not have such a dramatic effect on his team plans when he picks his final 23 for the trip to South Africa…