We shouldn't be surprised anymore, but those of us who regularly follow England, nearly always have to suffer every emotion during each and every game, and the trip to Rio de Janeiro proved to be firmly in that category. Roy Hodgson was down to the bare bones of a squad and the team he had to put out was nothing like his first choice. Having said that, there was still enough talent in the team to give Brazil a good game, and boy, did they do that.

After an opening few minutes that saw both sides make tentative steps into the play, it was the hosts who enjoyed most of the possession, as you would expect from any Brazil side. And as early as the fifth minute, the latest Brazilian Golden Boy, Neymar, was in position to try a spectacular volley. Leighton Baines made the block though and the England defence cleared the danger. But that was just a taster for what followed in the first half. With patient build up, Brazil played the ball across their back line, before one of their defenders would spot an opening and thread a rapier like pass through to the eager attackers. It was sort of 'Pass, Pass, Pass - Explode!' England meanwhile, stayed back, trying to soak the attacks up, living on a knife edge most of the time. In their case it was more 'Pass, Pass, Pass - Lose Possession!'

Wave after wave of Brazilian attacks came at England. Neymar forced Joe Hart into his first save and Danny Alves hit a fine shot just wide. There was one promising break from England but Wayne Rooney and Theo Walcott were not quite on the same wavelength and Rooney's pass missed his target. On 18 minutes Brazil should have scored as a long ball came in to find Neymar coming in from the left. Glen Johnson could and should have cleared the ball but missed it leaving Neymar with a clear chance. But Hart brilliantly blocked the shot and England breathed again. A minute later and Jagielka's mistake gave Brazil another chance but again Hart was alive to the situation and saved well. Neymar curled a shot just wide and then Oscar's brilliant cross was about to be converted at the far post only for Johnson to make a vital clearance. Michael Carrick was the next to be caught in possession and this time Hart made two fine saves to prevent a goal. It was backs to the wall for England and Alves was the next to try his luck with a long range shot well held by England's saviour, Hart. It also didn't help that Baines was injured and had to go off, to be replaced by Ashley Cole, his first appearance as a substitute in his 103 games.

On the half hour mark Oscar, who had a fine game, forced another save from the overworked goalkeeper and then Hulk shot over from a good position. England were relying on an occasional breakaway and Rooney almost sent Walcott clear. But there were some very tired legs amongst the England players out there, and more importantly, tired minds. But then in the 39th minute a real chance for England. A good run by Johnson ended with a clever pass which sent Walcott clear on an angle. Unfortunately he shot straight at Cesar, when perhaps he could have done better. But it did give England a glimpse of what they might be able to achieve if they were a little more positive in their outlook.

Play swung from end to end for the remaining minutes of the half as Fred headed over for Brazil, and Frank Lampard also shot straight at Cesar. The fact that the half ended goalless was largely down to Joe Hart. He had given a superb performance, one of his best in an England shirt, and whilst the scores were level England still had hope.

At the start of the second half it seemed that both sides were settling for a 0-0, such was the tedium of the play. England had sharpened up on their retaining of the ball, whilst Brazil, for all their dominance suddenly saw the chances dry up. A series of substitutions didn't help the home side, especially when Oscar was surprisingly taken off. But on 57 minutes the second half lethargy suddenly exploded. One of the subs, Hernanes, picked up possession just outside the England box and let fly a delightful curling effort. Hart, for once, was beaten, but the ball struck the bar and bounced down. First to react was Fred, and he volleyed the rebound past the goalkeeper.

At that stage of the match it looked as though there would only be one outcome, but to be fair England reacted well to going a goal down and on 61 minutes the manager made a change that was to have a big say in the final result. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came on for Johnson and went straight into the centre of midfield allowing Phil Jones to take up the right-back position. Almost immediately there was more purpose to England's play with Oxlade-Chamberlain looking full of running. James Milner cut inside to unleash a fierce left-foot shot which unluckily deflected wide of a Brazilian defender. From the corner Rooney should have scored but his clear header went wide from close range. But the pressure continued and then, just five minutes after coming on, Oxlade- Chamberlain scored a fantastic equaliser. He passed to Lampard who moved it on to Rooney on the edge of the box. Rooney delicately laid the ball into Oxlade-Chamberlain's path and his crisp low left-foot shot rifled home past a startled goalkeeper.

It was a good response from England after going a goal down and for a while Brazil were struggling. Hulk went off just after Lucas shot over and Jones was booked for a foul. But England were now playing much better and on 79 minutes the incredible happened. For the first time in the match Rooney had a chance to run at the defence. Milner's clever play had found the Manchester United star and Rooney cut inside and opened up a clear sight of goal. He let fly, and would you believe it, the ball flew into the top corner leaving Cesar groping! Admittedly the ball took a slight deflection but no credit should be taken from Rooney, who hit the shot brilliantly.

Could England really pull this game out of the fire? For a short time Brazil were in disarray, but they are not the team they are by going under easily, and three minutes later they found an equaliser. The ball was crossed from the right and Paulinho, left on his own in the area, showed typical Brazilian panache and skill by hitting a superb volley wide of the stranded Hart from 14 yards out. It was an unstoppable shot, and it lifted the crowd and the team. However, England were able to see out the remaining eight minutes without further alarm, and after the wreckage of an abysmal first half the England spirit prevailed and a very creditable result was earned.

Let us hope the rest and recuperation period between now and the important autumn internationals gives all the 'injured' players a chance to recover, and the 'fit' players a chance to recharge their batteries.