WHEN ENGLAND COMFORTABLY BEAT BRAZIL

The Brazilian national football team came into being in 1914 when a combined Rio and Sao Paulo XI played Exeter City in Fluminense' Stadium. (see below) The team made up from players from both cities apparently won 2-0, although others say the score was 3-3. Why Exeter? They went on tour to promote the game rather as the Corinthians did, hence the Corinthians FC.

Brazil then played against neighbours Argentina and Uruguay from 1916. The country is now ranked 2nd in FIFA and has ruled the world. England has played Brazil since 1956 winning 4 times, drawing 10 and losing 11.

The games between the two nations have been played a regular intervals and between 1958 and 1981 Brazil either won or drew matches. In 1984 England won 2-0 away and up to 1993 either won or drew in 5 matches. After that from 1995-2009 there were 8 games either won by Brazil or drawn and then next time the two came together was in 2013 with both friendlies won by England 2-1 at home  and then drawn 2-2 away.

The 1956 match at Wembley, a 4-2 victory for the home team, included two goals each scored by Tommy Taylor of Manchester United and Colin Grainger. There were two missed penalties also and the makings of a successful national team, preparing for the 1958 World Cup, which Brazil, of course, won. In this side was Reg Matthews of Coventry was the goalkeeper and he played in the Third Division South. John Ayteo, Ronnie Clayton and Johnny Haynes were each in the Second Division.

Roger Byrne (Man U), Billy Wright (Wolves), Jeff Hall (Birmingham City), Duncan Edwards (Man U) and Stanley Matthews (Blackpool) made up the rest. Needless to say the Munich air crash took a third of the team away.

Jeff Hall was a full back, whom I saw play at Portsmouth on 21st March 1959. Two days later he was diagnosed with polio and he went into hospital, where he died on April 4th. This sparked the national concern for vaccination against the disease, after his wife made an appeal on TV for immunisation with the available Salk vaccine to become standard.

Colin Grainger, a left winger, played for Wrexham, Sheffield United, Sunderland, Leeds, Port Vale and Doncaster covering 325 games and then Macclesfield in the Cheshire League.
After winning 7 caps, he retired to become a recording artist (pub singer) making a "hit", "This I know/Are You" in 1958. He was known as the Singing Winger.

So enjoy the Brazilians and

Check out the TV programme tonight on ITV about FOOTBALL STICKERS.