Even with Brazil in Town…England Friendly Seems Pointless
In the middle of another frantic Premier League season, an international friendly between England and Brazil seems rather needless. The Football Association can at least be commended for securing an attractive opponent for this fixture, and Lord only knows they’ll cash in on it if at all possible.
But is there anything to be gained from an international friendly for an underwhelming England team, with absolutely nothing at stake at all, in the middle of an arduous campaign, when everyone knows that numerous players will withdraw from the squad? And going back to the money issue, is it reasonable that England’s phenomenally loyal – some might say, undeservedly so – supporters are being asked to dip into their pockets once again for a pointless fixture that won’t make a blind bit of difference to how the England team fares in major international tournaments, and whose result will be forgotten within weeks of it having been played?
Yes, this is a scheduled international friendly, and other national teams are playing as well. However, when major international football tournaments roll around, we wonder why Germany always perform so well. There are many possible reasons for this, but here’s one of them. England’s key midfield player Steven Gerrard has made 44 international and club appearances in 2025-13. Germany’s key midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has made 33. That means Gerrard is playing, roughly speaking, 33% more football than Schweinsteiger.
Germany has a 34 game league programme, only one domestic cup, and a mid-season winter break. All of these things have been proposed in England, but the Premier League came to the conclusion that there’s too much money to be lost by implementing any of these suggestions. Which is, of course, the same basic motivation that the Brazil friendly is taking place.
Yet when Germany meet England and run all over the English midfield, people will still wonder why.
