England 2 Brazil 1: match report To Hodgson's delight, the first half had belonged to Wilshere. Playing with his head up, looking all around for team-mates" positioning or angle of runs, the Arsenal midfielder drew plenty of applause and doubtless a few sighs over how much England had missed him through injury. England's No 8 was liberated from some defensive duties by Steven Gerrard, who was sitting in front of the back-four while Tom Cleverley and particularly Wilshere pushed on. Hodgson is a huge admirer of Cleverley but the Manchester United midfielder was eclipsed by Wilshere and replaced at the break by Lampard, who promptly scored. Wilshere helped create England's first-half goal, dribbled forward constantly, showing a belief and invention not always associated with England. This was what Hodgson had been hoping to see; after giving Gerrard and Wilshere 13 minutes in tandem in Stockholm in November, he was rewarded with substantial evidence of the strength of their partnership. On the eve of the game, Gerrard had talked sensibly of not lavishing too much hype on Wilshere too early, arguing that the term "world class" can be applied to players only towards the end of their career when they have compiled a glittering body of work. Such was Wilshere's stellar contribution that Gerrard's plea for restraint might have been drowned out amid the sound of presses rolling feverishly. The entertainment on offer in the first half could still not wipe away the memory of distasteful events before kick-off. Sadly, and disgracefully, some idiots in the England and Brazilian areas failed to observe the period of silence to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the Munich air disaster, the 20th anniversary of Bobby Moore's death and to remember all those who died in the Santa Maria nightclub fire in Brazil. It was a sour note to the start of a game that was supposed to be a celebration of the FA's 150th anniversary. Brazil had been chosen for their history, their allure and their famous names. Neymar was disappointing in the first half, repeating his anonymous showing in the Olympic final here. Ronaldinho also failed to shine. Ronaldinho had punished England from a dead-ball in Shizuoka, catching out David Seaman with a free-kick that had the keeper still in tears as he emerged from the dressing-room two hours later. Ronaldinho was presented with a penalty chance here after his cross was deemed to have been handled by the jumping Wilshere, who seemed to be trying to move his arms away from the ball. Pedro Proenca, the Portuguese referee, pointed immediately to the spot. If the expectation was that Neymar might take responsibility for the penalty, Ronaldinho was wanting to celebrate his 100th cap (although only 95 were in official games). Joe Hart guessed Ronaldinho's intentions, diving to his left to stop the kick. The ball was loose, scarcely two yards from the line and Ronaldinho was sliding towards it. Again, Hart excelled, saving well. England were fortunate that Proenca failed to notice Cleverley's foul on Neymar. Reprieved, and grateful to Hart, England went down the other end, striking with a fine move. Danny Welbeck, not at his most effective on the left, played the ball inside to Wilshere, who glided forward in that muscular, assertive way of his. Exchanging passes with Wayne Rooney, Wilshere continued upfield. Full of vision and technique, Wilshere drilled the ball low behind the Barcelona left-back, Adriano, for Theo Walcott run on to, Arsenal finding Arsenal. The quality of the pass and the pace of Walcott created the opportunity but Julio Cesar did superbly to save the winger's shot. The ball rebounded clear and there was Rooney, anticipating well, calmly sliding the ball past Dante and Cesar. England were transformed. Tentative early on, Hodgson's men were now inspired, relieved by Hart's save and invigorated by Wilshere. Rooney combined instinctively with Wilshere, who transferred the ball left to Welbeck. The finish was poor, sent badly wide. After Neymar wasted a chance beautifully created by Oscar, England almost added another. From another Wilshere break, Rooney rammed the loose ball wide. Walcott was denied by Cesar. The QPR keeper then thwarted Gerrard as the second half opened. England's enduring concerns at centre-half then materialised. A mistake by Gary Cahill gifted possession to Fred, who arrived at the interval and beat Hart with ease. Cahill almost made amends with a header from a Gerrard corner pushed over by the excellent Cesar. Cometh the hour, cometh the midfield goalscoring man called Lampard. His 27th international goal, taking him level with David Platt, came from a lay-off by Rooney. Lampard's shot clipped Cesar's post and went in. To think that Chelsea believe they have no further use for him after this season. Wilshere continued to impress, winning a throw-in off David Luiz and the game finished with Wilshere dropping back to nick the ball off Neymar. If Wilshere being named man of the match was no surprise, slightly more eyebrow-raising was Hodgson's decision to keep Rooney on for the full 90 minutes when the manager had suggested he would "spare" United's Champions League players.