Brazil 2-2 England: Progress for the Selecao, More Questions for the Three Lions

Brazil's preparations for the Confederations Cup took another step in the right direction after a good performance against England on Sunday evening.

The two played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at the reopening of the famous Estadio do Maracana, with Fred and Paulinho netting for the hosts.

Despite sharing the spoils on the score sheet, the Selecao were far and away the better side for long periods and Luiz Felipe Scolari will be happy with what he saw.

"Big Phil" continued with his odd variation of the 4-4-2 formation—sometimes verging on a 4-2-2-2, sometimes approaching a 4-2-3-1. Neymar operated at the top of the formation alongside centre-forward Fred for long periods, while Hulk started from left-midfield and drifted inward to find space.

Brazil played with a dedicated holding pivot throughout, at first with Luiz Gustavo and Paulinho, then later with Fernando and Hernanes.

The home side blitzed the visitors throughout the opening 45 minutes, pounding the goal with shots and flummoxing the defence with a unique mixture of slow, possession football in the defensive third and quick, intricate play in the attacking third.

Joe Hart was the only reason England weren't five- or six-nil down by the whistle; the Manchester City goalkeeper was in fine, brave form.

Roy Hodgson's men, on the other hand, were playing a dedicated 4-1-4-1 with Michael Carrick in the holding role. Phil Jones was deployed as a right-sided central midfield to help protect Glen Johnson, while James Milner started on the left wing to protect Leighton Baines.

It was very negative, and to pull off the system explosive, quick centre-midfielders were required. Unfortunately, in Frank Lampard, that explosiveness was distinctly absent.

The Three Lions were boxed in and could only commit two or three players in attack: Both goals scored were quick transitions or lightning-fast counters.

In analysing England's performance, the same old problems apply: They struggle to keep the ball even with Carrick involved, and frequently box themselves in. It wasn't quite a 4-4-2, but it was certainly reminiscent of the slaughtering Italy dealt them at Euro 2012.

The result wasn't perfect for Brazil either, but the performance was considerably better. Scolari has molded his side gradually since taking over and has Neymar, Fred and Oscar playing great football.

The perseverance with Hulk in the starting XI is something of a head-scratcher, with many wanting to see the less wasteful Lucas Moura start from the off. But there's no doubt which side will have left the pitch feeling more confident.

The two sides met in February and England bettered Brazil at Wembley. Scolari's side was subpar and disappointing, but it made a lot of tactical progress in four months.

The Selecao deserved to win the game, and Big Phil will be quick to remind his players only a superlative goalkeeping display from Hart stopped them from taking a comfortable, killer halftime lead.

Follow @stighefootball