England vs Brazil Preview: 5 Key Battles That Will Decide The Game

5. Gary Cahill vs Ronaldinho

gary cahill 32-year old Ronaldinho was a surprise addition to Phil Scolari's 23-man squad to face England tonight, especially considering the bright young midfielders the former Chelsea manager has at his disposal in Oscar, Paulinho and Moura. However, underestimate the former Barcelona and AC Milan player at your own peril, this is a player who not so long ago plundered 70 goals in 145 appearances at the Nou Camp and added a further 20 in 76 appearances while plying his trade at the San Siro, and he will be looking to make a nuisance of himself tonight for England's back-four. With John Terry out of the squad, fellow Chelsea teammate Gary Cahill will almost certainly start in one of the centre-back berths, probably alongside Phil Jagielka or Chris Smalling. The burden of blunting the Brazilian's creativity will fall on Cahill and it will be interesting to see how well he copes with Brazil's attacking brilliance. He hasn't always been given the credit he deserves, has Cahill, and this will be as good an opportunity as any to display his defensive pedigree.
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Contributor

Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.