England traveled to Brazil today for an international friendly, and they for the most part got absolutely manhandled by the home side. Brazil had over 60% of the possession and took an obscene 32 shots to England's 11. It was a clinic start to finish. But Brazil didn't win. Actually, they almost lost.
England keeper Joe Hart was playing out of his mind all game, and Brazil only got on the scoreboard when Fred volleyed home a rebound off the post in the 57th minute. The English, however, were efficient if nothing else, and 10 minutes later, English wonderkid Alex Oxelade-Chamberlain scored a volley from outside the box to level the score. Twelve minutes after that, James Milner sprung free on the left wing, then passed to Wayne Rooney about 40 yards from goal. The Manchester United star did the rest.
Rooney took two touches, and then saw the Brazilian defense back off. So he looked up, picked his spot, and curled his shot into the far top corner to put England on top, 2-1.
Paulinho would put a damper on the celebrations by scoring for Brazil to preserve the draw three short minutes later, but a great goal's a great goal. Rooney's future with Manchester United is in doubt this offseason. After a relatively disappointing campaign, he's been the center of several transfer rumors, and many fans and pundits alike have asked aloud if the striker's past his prime as a player. We have a feeling this goal might help to calm some of those suspicions.