International friendly: England vs Brazil

Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and audio commentary on BBC Radio 5 live.

England manager Roy Hodgson says left-back Ashley Cole will start against Brazil at Wembley on Wednesday to earn his 100th international cap.

Cole, 32, made his national team debut in March 2001 against Albania and will become the seventh England player to reach a century of appearances.
"Ashley will definitely start the game," said Hodgson.
"I'll have to see what to do with [fellow left-back] Leighton [Baines], who has been doing very well."

"England's fans have the opportunity to reflect on the consistency and quality Cole has delivered for them when he reaches his landmark at Wembley. And he may even get the credit his football achievements thoroughly deserve."

The game against Brazil will be a warm-up for England's two World Cup qualifiers in March against San Marino and Montenegro.

"Experiment is not a word I really want to use. We're taking the game too seriously for me to even entertain
the word experiment, but on the other hand it is a friendly match," said Hodgson.
"For us it's another important step along the way.
"We think it's a great way to start 2013 and our 150th anniversary, and we'll be doing our best to play well and get a good result, but finally for me it's a question of knowing by March what our best team is and what players play best together."
Hodgson has had to contend with strikers Jermain Defoe and Daniel Sturridge pulling out of his squad because of ankle and thigh injuries respectively, while midfielder Michael Carrick (hip) is also missing.
The withdrawal of the forward pair could prompt the England boss to use Theo Walcott up front as opposed to on the wing.
"We're disappointed to lose the three players who were originally selected, but luckily we've still got plenty left and everyone trained on Tuesday so we're all set for the game."