Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 5 Num 1019 Fri. April 13, 2007  
   
Sports


England-Brazil in Wembley curtain-raiser


England will take on Brazil in their first match at the new Wembley Stadium on June 1, the Football Association (FA) confirmed Wednesday.

England's first match at Wembley for seven years will provide a test for Steve McClaren's side ahead of their Euro 2008 qualifier in Estonia five days later.

The 90,000-seater national stadium has been rebuilt at a cost of 800-million pounds (1.45 billion dollars).

FA chief executive Brian Barwick said: "We're delighted to be able to announce that Brazil will be the first team to take on England at the new Wembley.

"It's a fantastic match to mark the team's return to the stadium after nearly seven years on the road around the country.

"Brazil featured in some memorable matches at the old Wembley. The new stadium is a fantastic football arena and I'm confident there will be many new memories created there for England fans over the coming years."

England were beaten by Germany in a World Cup qualifier in their last match at Wembley in October 2000.

Football returned to Wembley last month as England Under-21s played out a 3-3 draw with their Italian counterparts in front of a crowd of 55,700.

The success of that match allowed the FA to confirm that the ground would be able to stage this year's FA Cup final as anticipated on May 19.

Five-time World Cup winners Brazil played at the old Wembley on nine occasions, most recently in May 2000 which ended in a 1-1 draw.

The FA have also confirmed that from next year the semifinals of the FA Cup will also be played at Wembley.