England 2-1 Brazil – Steadfast Three Lions secure showpiece triumph

Strikes from Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard either side of half-time ensured England recorded their first victory over Brazil since 1990 with a 2-1 win.

And while Ashley Cole’s much anticipated 100^th England appearance ended with success, he took his leave at half-time when he made way for in-form Everton left-back Leighton Baines.

The action began in the 20^th minute when the visitors were awarded a penalty after a harsh handball decision against Jack Wilshere, but Joe Hart pulled off a remarkable double-save from Ronaldinho’s spot kick and rebound.

Rooney then gave the Three Lions the lead shortly after with a well struck goal, pouncing on a loose ball after Julio Cesar parried Theo Walcott’s shot.

But it took just three minutes from the re-start for Brazil to pull one back, as substitute striker, Fred, took advantage of a Gary Cahill error to fire in the equaliser, with the forward hitting the bar moments later.

It was a shaky start to the second-half for England, but the introduction of Frank Lampard proved its worth when he fired the home side into the lead again, the Chelsea midfielder collecting the ball from Rooney just outside the box and curling a shot past Cesar which cannoned off the post and in.

England did well to keep the samba-stars at bay, as Brazil seemed to lack precision in the final third to pose a significant threat to Hart.

Although Santos starlet Neymar showcased his well-documented pace in a lively performance which is likely to please his many European club suitors.

Wilshere also seemed to enjoy his midfield partnership with Steven Gerrard on his first England start since his lengthy injury lay-off, and his marvellous performance quite rightly earned him the man-of-the-match award.

Elsewhere, Gareth Bale continued his superb form for club and country by leading Wales to a 2-1 win over Austria.

The Spurs winger opened the scoring before providing the assist for Sam Vokes to fire in their second, while Marc Janko pulled one back for Austria late into the game.

The Republic of Ireland overcame Euro 2012 joint-hosts Poland 2-0, with goals from Aston Villa defender Ciaran Clark and Norwich’s Wes Hoolahan, the midfielder’s scoring his first international goal.

Charlie Mulgrew’s first-half strike was enough for Scotland to record a 1-0 win Estonia, while Northern Ireland’s clash with Malta ended in a goalless draw.