JOHN TOSHACK had feared that his players might prematurely dream about which Brazil player to swap shirts with, but the Wales manager would have been encouraged that they were not left clutching at thin air last night. Brazil dominated with their superior technique and swift, incisive passing, but Wales were not humiliated in this friendly international at White Hart Lane.
Even delaying the kick-off by 15 minutes because of traffic problems and fans arriving too late to buy tickets made little difference to a disappointingly low crowd of 22,008. Hundreds of fans were still outside at half-time, but Tottenham Hotspur said that they got in in time to see Brazil’s goals, from Marcelo and Vágner Love.
Toshack hoped Brazil’s tradition would inspire his younger players, but it was the elegant Ryan Giggs who caught the eye until he was taken off at half-time. As a youngster, the Manchester United winger had marvelled at Eder and the former Brazil left winger would in turn have enjoyed Giggs’s cunning passes. “I would like someone like him [Giggs], but we have too many and I would give myself a headache who to play,” Dunga, the Brazil coach, said.
Giggs’s precise early cushioned volley across the penalty area should have been capitalised upon by Robert Earnshaw, who hesitated and had his shot smothered. Soon after, Giggs’s clever back-heel found Earnshaw galloping into the left channel of the area, but Gomes parried the shot from a narrow angle. “We have got to start converting chances and other people need to take responsibility to do that,” Toshack said.
A persistent lone Brazilian drummer tried to set the team’s rhythm, but it hardly matched the carnival atmosphere of the Emirates Stadium two days earlier, when they defeated Argentina 3-0.
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Hugging the left touchline, a muted Ronaldinho slipped passes through the eye of a needle, but it was Kaká who sparkled for Brazil. He had five shots at goal, the most eye-catching when he volleyed directly at Paul Jones after combining with Vágner Love on the edge of the box, but the AC Milan forward would have been disappointed not to have done better when Jones parried Alex’s header and he snatched at the rebound.
Wales began the second half intensely, with Craig Bellamy nearly latching on to a short back-pass and hooking over the bar soon after, but Brazil took the lead after 61 minutes. Gilberto Silva, the Arsenal midfield player, laid the ball across to Marcelo, who scored with a low shot into the far corner. Thirteen minutes later, Cicinho’s whipped cross was deftly flicked in by Vágner Love.
“People thought it strange when I picked Marcelo but I knew that he has the ability,” Dunga said. “Wales were a good side and we had to be patient and calm and switch the play to open them up.”
WALES (3-5-2): P Jones (Queens Park Rangers) — J Collins (West Ham United), D Gabbidon (West Ham United), L Nyatanga (Derby County) — R Duffy (Portsmouth; sub: R Edwards, Wolverhampton Wanderers, 63min), S Davies (Everton; sub: D Vaughan, Crewe Alexandra, 67), C Robinson (Norwich City; sub: C Fletcher, Crystal Palace, 52), R Giggs (Manchester United; sub: S Ricketts, Hull City, 46), G Bale (Southampton; sub: J Ledley, Cardiff City, 46) — C Bellamy (Liverpool), R Earnshaw (Norwich City; sub: D Cotterill, Wigan Athletic, 76). Substitute not used: J Brown (Blackburn Rovers).
BRAZIL (3-4-2-1): Gomes (PSV Eindhoven) — Maicon (Inter Milan; sub: Cicinho, Real Madrid, 58), Luisão (Benfica), Alex (PSV Eindhoven) — J Baptista (Arsenal; sub: Rafael Sobis, Internacional, 78), Edmilson (Barcelona; sub: Gilberto Silva, Arsenal 46), D Cearense (CSKA Moscow), Marcelo (Fluminense; sub: Gilberto, Hertha Berlin, 75) — Kaká (AC Milan; sub: Elano, Shakhtar Donetsk, 71), Ronaldinho (Barcelona; sub: Robinho, Real Madrid, 67) — V Love (CSKA Moscow). Substitutes not used: Fabio (Cruzeiro), Lucio (Bayern Munich), Juan (Bayer Leverkusen), Daniel Carvalho (CSKA Moscow), Fred (Lyons).
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Referee: M Riley (England).