Cahill hopeful of win in Brazil

Gary Cahill wants England to prove February's victory over Brazil was no flash in the pan when they travel to South America.

Frank Lampard's superb strike earned Roy Hodgson's side a 2-1 win against the Selecao at Wembley earlier this year. It was England's first victory against Brazil in 23 years and they now have the chance to make it two wins in four months in Sunday's friendly at the Maracana.

"It is one to look forward to," defender Cahill said. "We have got a big flight now and then a couple of days training. We played really well against them at Wembley a couple of months ago."

He added: "We know the task ahead is going to be hard. They are playing at home so it is going to be tough for us. But, like I said, we played some good stuff against them at home and hopefully we can put in a good performance."

If England are to get a decent result in Rio de Janeiro, they will have to play better than they did against Ireland on Wednesday night.

Roy Hodgson's side might be ranked seventh in the world but they were made to look decidedly ordinary by their near neighbours, who sit 32 places lower in the FIFA standings.

Shane Long gave Ireland a shock 13th-minute lead at Wembley, only for Lampard to prod home a leveller 10 minutes later.

There were to be no more goals in what was the countries' first meeting since 1995 and, despite struggling to get going, Cahill remained upbeat afterwards.

"It was a tough workout," the Chelsea defender said. "I thought they made it hard for us, which you would expect. They have got some hard-working, determined players in there and they made it difficult for us.

"Nevertheless, we played some good stuff. I thought we got in behind the back of them on many occasions but just maybe lacked that final ball and the goalkeeper pulled off a couple of good saves. I think there are positives we can take from it."

Source : http://www.football.co.uk/england/cahill_hopeful_of_win_in_brazil_rss4232362.shtml