England are planning foray into Brazil ahead of 2014 tournament

The FA are planning two friendly games on a mini-tour of the 2014 host nation – one against Brazil and another possibly against Uruguay.

Much will depend on the fixture schedule of the 2013 qualifying games – and that will not be decided until November – but the belief is that the experience of the country and the culture would be beneficial for England players ahead of the World Cup.

It would also tie in with the FA’s 150th anniversary celebrations, and would be England’s first match in Brazil since John Barnes inspired a 2-0 win at the Maracana in 1984.

If the plan comes off, it would mean that Brazil would then be unlikely to come to Wembley that year, with 150th anniversary games instead lined up against the likes of Scotland, Argentina and Germany.

There is likely to be an England friendly against Spain later this coming season, either in November or February, at Wembley.

Fabio Capello begins his last season as England head coach next week frustrated at the timing of the friendly against Holland but determined to end his managerial career on a high.

Capello is hopeful that, under him, England can secure an elusive trophy at Euro 2012 before he settles into a new life out of the firing line, probably as a TV pundit for Italian television.

The opening of the international season takes place against the Dutch at Wembley on August 10, three days before the start of the Premier League season, so giving Capello no opportunity to rate the form of his players, who will then have Euro 2012 qualifying games against Bulgaria and Wales in September.

Capello, speaking in Rio de Janeiro after the 2014 World Cup preliminary draw, said: “I think my last year will be very good, I hope so. I try to make everything better. I study, I prepare, I focus. I hope that at the end of my career we will win a trophy.

“I hope so because when you are a winner, you want to win something, not to lose.”

Capello said the timing of the Holland game was “difficult”, adding: “You need to ask FIFA, they decided this. Usually it would be the first Wednesday after the first league game. I can’t watch any of the players I need to choose. I don’t know what level any of the players will be.”

He knows at least he will be without Steven Gerrard, while Theo Walcott is a major doubt, but the England manager indicated he is not considering throwing Phil Jones, Manchester United’s new signing from Blackburn, into the fray against the Dutch.

“No – now I need to prepare for the qualifying games,” said Capello. “I make experiments if it’s possible when games are not so important, but this is very important because we then have a really short time to prepare for the next qualification games.”

The Italian said he “suffered” watching the World Cup draw and knowing he would not be participating any longer as a manager – and had a warning for his successor that the demands of the Premier League make it difficult for England to be fresh at major tournaments.

He does believe, though, that the emerging crop of young English players will provide a strong core for the future. “In my experience, we arrive not fresh enough at the end of the season, this is my opinion,” said Capello.

“I said exactly the same after the game against Switzerland (the 2-2 draw in June).

“I think that the England players arrive at the end of the season tired because they play a lot of games and each game in England is very hard.

“They run a lot, even sometimes when they’re losing 2-0, 3-1, 3-0, they push, push, push to the end.

“But we have some really interesting young players and the future will be them. I hope that over the next year some young players will be ready to play in the next qualification campaign.

“There are some good players for the future: Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson, the two at Manchester United, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling, also Kyle Walker, Danny Welbeck.

“I think these players are the future. Some of them will arrive at one level. Some will be ready now, like Wilshere.”

WORLD CUP QUALIFYING GROUPS

Group A: Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, Scotland, Macedonia, Wales.

Group B: Italy, Denmark, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Armenia, Malta.

Group C: Germany, Sweden, Republic of Ireland, Austria, Faroe Islands, Kazakhstan.

Group D: Holland, Turkey, Hungary, Romania, Estonia, Andorra.

Group E: Norway, Slovenia, Switzerland, Albania, Cyprus, Iceland.

Group F: Portugal, Russia, Israel, Northern Ireland, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg.

Group G: Greece, Slovakia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lithuania, Latvia, Liechtenstein.

Group H: England, Montenegro, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, San Marino.

Group I: Spain, France, Belarus, Georgia, Finland.