Hodgson credits England's 'coming of age' performance.

England manager Roy Hodgson claimed that his England players could regard the 2-2 draw against Brazil as a “coming of age” performance.

Fred opened the scoring for Luiz Felipe Scolari’s team, who dominated England for the first 60 mins of the game. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wayne Rooney gave England the lead with two great strikes in the space of 12 minutes, before Paulinho equalized for Brazil sharing the spoils between the sides.

“We started the second half much better. In the first half we were far too cautious. It was understandable because it was a different pitch to the type we’re used to. It was a big pitch and hot, versus an exceptional team, but I was disappointed we didn’t move the ball quicker and play the football we can do,” Hodgson said.

He added, “We were looking forward, and terribly excited, to play in the Maracanã against a Brazil side preparing for the Confederations Cup. For us it is the end of a long season and it’s a long trip against a good team. So we’re delighted with how we kept ourselves in the game and didn’t capitulate despite them being clearly better than us.

“In the second half we were every bit as good as them and we take lot of credit for that. Most teams, managers and coaches know that when you come to Brazil they will have more of the ball and create more chances. The question is if you can deal with it and come away with a result, and that’s what we have done.”

Source: The Guardian