Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard were England’s scorers, either side of a fine equalizer from Fred at the start of the second half.

However, there were far more pluses for manager Roy Hodgson than a first victory over Brazil since 1990. Jack Wilshere was outstanding alongside Steven Gerrard in midfield, and was deservedly named man of the match, Joe Hart saved a penalty and Theo Walcott’s pace was a constant threat.

Brazil should have gone ahead when Wilshere blocked Oscar’s cross with his hand in the area but Hart produced a magnificent double save to repel both Ronaldinho’s penalty and the rebound before Neymar bundled the ball wide.

It was the first penalty save by an England keeper since 2004, so Hart deserved the luck he got when Neymar slid in at the far post to meet an Oscar cross from the other side which he somehow managed to scoop over from three yards.

Wilshere’s astute pass set Danny Welbeck up midway through the first half, only for the Manchester United man to fire wide with his right foot when the acute angle demanded an effort with his left.

And it was Wilshere who sliced Brazil apart with the pass that provided Walcott with the chance Julio Cesar saved, only for Rooney to calmly stroke home the rebound. Cesar denied Walcott with another fine stop before the end of as promising a half in a friendly as England have had for some time.

It was undeniably good from England – but it took them just two second-half minutes to undo all that positive work. Gary Cahill’s lack of control led to him losing possession in no-man’s land, the ball rolled to Fred on the edge of the area and with virtually his first touch after being introduced as a half-time substitute, he fired into the corner.

More shambolic defending, this time started by Chris Smalling, provided Fred with another chance which he clipped against the bar two minutes later. Yet England’s response was as impressive as their first-half display had been.

Cahill and Walcott were repelled by Cesar before Rooney nipped in to provide Lampard with an opportunity snaffled in sensational manner, taking him onto 27 England goals and once again raising question marks over Chelsea’s desire to off-load him. It was enough to seal a rare win over such glamorous opposition.

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The Bears have already sent out letters asking various teams for permission to interview candidates to fill Smith’s job.

The Bears missed the playoffs for the fifth time in the last six seasons despite starting this season 7-1.

The Bears finished 10-6 but were denied a playoff spot when the Vikings beat the Packers on Sunday.

As reports of Smith’s ouster started to surface on Twitter, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was doing “The Jay Cutler Show” on ESPN 1000 and had to leave early.

“I think it’s going to be a sad day at Halas Hall,” Cutler said. “I have a lot of respect for the guy. He’s made friends with a lot of the players. He’s a players’ coach. I think right now I’m a little surprised, a little sad. Wish I could have done more offensively to help him out.”

The 54-year-old Smith, who led the Bears to the Super Bowl after the 2006 season, was 81-63 over eight regular seasons and was 3-3 in the playoffs.

Smith was under contract through 2013, and new general manager Phil Emery did not engage the coach in contract talks on an extension during the season.

Smith was particularly criticized for Chicago’s struggles on offense. Despite have a Pro Bowl receiver in Brandon Marshall and solid players in Cutler and running back Matt Forte, the Bears ranked 28th in total offense. Smith was a defensive coach, but Cutler wouldn’t say if he would prefer an offensive-minded coach to replace Smith.

“I’ve had both,” Cutler said. “There’s pluses and minuses to argue each case. I’m not going to give a preference on what I want, what I don’t want because I don’t really know at this point. I trust Phil and management and George (McCaskey) and those guys to make the best call. They’re going to get the best possible head coach and assistant coaches and coordinators as they can. So you’ve just got to trust in that.”

Smith also struggled to beat Green Bay. The Bears have lost eight of their last nine against the Packers and six straight.

The other big issue was the Bears’ poor finishes under Smith. Chicago lost seven straight December games since 2010 before snapping its skid with a Week 16 victory over the Cardinals. During Smith’s nine seasons, the Bears were 17-19 in December.

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