England and Brazil combined XI: Who makes the side with Harry Kane, Neymar, Philippe Coutinho and Dele Alli all in contention?
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ENGLAND will get another stern test of their credentials ahead of next summer’s World Cup in Russia when five-time winners Brazil visit Wembley on Tuesday evening.
The Selecao do not boast as many iconic names as in the past – think the likes of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Roberto Carlos in one side – but Tite’s XI is packed with quality from Europe’s biggest clubs.
With that in mind, we’ve asked our friends at Football Whispers to come up with a combined England-Brazil XI.
Goalkeeper: Ederson
The Manchester City stopper isn’t Brazil’s No1. Selecao head coach Tite prefers Roma keeper Alisson. However, the 24-year-old has been a revelation at the Etihad Stadium since becoming the world’s most expensive stopper this summer.
Replacing the hapless Claudio Bravo was never the most daunting challenge but the former Benfica keeper has been imperious between the sticks and helps City play out from the back.
Right-back: Kyle Walker
The England international briefly became the world’s most expensive defender when he moved from Tottenham in the summer before being trumped by team-mate Benjamin Mendy.
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Walker has slotted in seamlessly and rightly lays claim to being one of the world’s best in his position.
His terrific form means PSG and Brazil veteran Dani Alves misses out.
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Centre-back: John Stones
Another Manchester City player, the England centre-half has come on leaps and bounds under Pep Guardiola since making the move from Everton last summer.
Often criticised for being too lax on the ball, the 23-year-old appears to have cut that element out of his game to become the Citizens’ most reliable defender in the absence of the injured Vincent Kompany.
Centre-back: Miranda
One of the most reliable centre-halves in La Liga during a four-year spell at Atletico Madrid, the 33-year-old moved to Inter Milan two summers ago.
In that time Miranda has helped tighten up the Nerazzurri’s leaky backline and this season, under former Roma coach Luciano Spalletti, Inter are in the running for the Serie A title.
Left-back: Marcelo
The Real Madrid man is arguably the best left-back in the world and has been for some time. He effectively plays two positions by gunning up and down the left-hand side constantly.
While England have a number of options at left-back, including one-time Manchester United transfer target Danny Rose who is back from injury, none come close to matching the tireless Marcelo.
Central midfield: Casemiro
Another member of Zinedine Zidane’s Real side, Casemiro has finally been allowed to flourish at the Bernabeu under the Frenchman.
Seen as too workmanlike when Rafa Benitez was in charge at Real, the 25-year-old has become a key part of Zidane’s all-conquering team, allowing bigger names to thrive.
Central midfield: Dele Alli
Although the reported Real Madrid transfer target will miss Tuesday’s game with injury, he is by far the best England have to offer in the heart of midfield.
Alli was highly impressive in a deeper role for Spurs in their recent 4-1 thrashing of Liverpool and this side hardly needs two defensive-minded midfielders, such is its quality.
Right attacking midfield: Raheem Sterling
The Manchester City man is enjoying the best season of his career to date and is already within one goal of matching his tally for the previous campaign.
That represents a remarkable turnaround for the former Liverpool attacker who had been deemed expendable in the summer and was subject of Arsenal transfer rumours.
Attacking midfield: Philippe Coutinho
A Barcelona transfer target in the summer following Neymar’s world-record move to PSG, the Blaugrana are expected to return with a new bid once this season ends.
In the meantime the former Inter prodigy has been brought back into Jurgen Klopp’s side and established himself as the Reds’ key player once more.
Left attacking midfield: Neymar
Signed for an extraordinary £198m last summer, the Brazilian has lived up to his billing at PSG and become the Ligue 1 leaders’ talisman.
Neymar is every bit as important to the Selecao and is already closing in on 100 caps for Brazil with a better than one-in-two strike rate.
Striker: Harry Kane
The Spurs man is in the form of his life and questions are rightly being asked of whether Kane should now be included in the same bracket as Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi.
Kane was the Premier League Golden Boot winner last season and already has 17 goals in just 18 appearances for club and country this season.