England 0-0 Brazil: 5 Talking Points

#1 What a week for Gareth Southgate!

England finally have a man in charge who is willing to take risks

It took a lot of guts from the English manager to name a squad as he did for the friendlies against Germany and Brazil. One by one, many names withdrew their names with niggles and knocks.

But, the former England international stuck to his philosophy and promoted names from the youth set-up. Southgate brought on young faces from his time with the U-21 team, players that he worked with in the past. And how good that move turned out to be!

England have managed two draws with two of the best and the highest ranked teams in the world. Against Brazil, it was the defence that won plaudits whereas against Germany it was the midfield and the counter attacks that caught the eye.

Southgate has changed the formation, brought stability but most importantly has shown the experienced yet aged stars in the team that their place in the flight to Russia is not assured.

Joe Hart, Kyle Walker, Gary Cahill and Jordan Henderson can be named as the few established internationals who might find it tough to break into this dynamic English lineup.

Whereas the likes of Jordan Pickford, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Harry Winks and Joe Gomez can all dream of representing the Three Lions at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Southgate has laid the foundation for England in this international break and it will be interesting to see how these talented youngsters get on at the biggest of stages.

Meanwhile, Southgate's biggest success so far in his England career has been that he has brought the feel-good factor about the national team back in the minds of the supporters.