Cold comfort for England

Step up

England conceded only three goals in qualifying for next year's World Cup but Germany and five-time world champion Brazil, which also easily qualified for the finals in Russia, represented a major step up in quality of opposition.

"We have come through with two clean sheets and the system has worked well," Southgate said.

"We limited both teams to very few clear-cut chances. When you put young players in you could get beaten by four and then you are questioning the decision.

"But they really stepped up in the two matches."

Brazil has won 13 of the 16 matches it has played since Tite became coach, but found England to be a tough nut to crack.

"They were very tight at the back," said substitute Fernandinho, of Manchester City, who came closest to scoring with a shot that glanced off the post.

"It was hard making chances in the first half. They were very well set up and that made it difficult for us. Both teams were well prepared and we managed to create some chances in the second half, while they had practically none."

It was the final game of the year for England and Brazil, with both now waiting to see who they will be paired with when the World Cup draw takes place next month.

"We can look at the areas we can improve and need to improve, but it's not going to get much tougher than it did tonight," said Southgate.

Both teams will be traveling to Russia trying to erase painful memories of the 2014 tournament.

For Brazil, there was the humiliating 7-1 exit to Germany in the semifinals on home soil - after which the team was booed off the pitch. England didn't even make it out of its group.

But at least both sides have qualified for Russia next year, unlike four-time champion Italy.

"History and T-shirts are not enough to take you to a World Cup," Tite said of Italy's failure to advance from the playoffs on Monday.

AP - Reuters