A 72nd minute strike from debutant Alexandre Pato proved to be the difference between Brazil and Sweden at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.

On an evening designed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the FIFA World Cup™ final between the two teams, the sides wore the same colour kit as they did at the Rasunda Stadium half a century ago. Any sense of nostalgia, however, was quickly erased when the sound of Andy Williams' 'Can't take my eyes off you' blared over the PA system as the teams entered the pitch.

It was during another innovation not invented in the late 1950's, the Mexican Wave, that witnessed the first opportunity of the match; Kim Kallstrom's rising shot from the edge of the box gave Brazil their first real warning sign on a cold and rainy night in north London.

It took Dunga's men 22 minutes to create their first chance. A clever flick from Robinho pulled Mikael Nilsson out of position and gave Daniel Alves the room to supply Diego, who fired his effort into the side-netting. The Swedish left-back was at the centre of the action three minutes later, when his defence-splitting ball from inside his own half found Markus Rosenberg, who raced clear of the Brazilian defence. The Werder Bremen striker had only the keeper to beat, but slipped at the crucial moment and saw his shot go wide.

The miss acted as a wake-up call to Brazil, who immediately took the ball to the other end of the field. Rosenberg's club team-mate, Diego fed Julio Baptista, but Andreas Isaksson was alert to the danger and blocked his shot. From the resulting corner, the Sweden No1 was called upon again, this time turning away a shot from Richarlyson, before Baptista curled a free-kick narrowly off-target.

Sweden did well to contain Brazil for the remainder of the half, but started on the front foot after the break. Sebastian Larsson, handed a chance on the right of midfield in place of Christian Wilhelmsson, swung in a dangerous free-kick from the left which narrowly evaded the heads of Olof Mellberg and Daniel Majstorovic.

Heroes and villains
In a neutral venue, which was well behind the Brazilian cause, it was somewhat disappointing to hear Anderson roundly booed when replacing Baptista in the 61st minute. And with the Manchester United midfielder cast as the pantomime villain, booed by the majority of the 60,000-plus crowd whenever he touched the ball, it was another substitute who assumed the role of hero.

Alexandre Pato, making his first international appearance, was only on the field for a matter of minutes when he threaded the ball through to Diego, who went down under the challenge of substitute keeper Rami Shaaban. Referee Mike Riley waved play on, but the youngster's threat was apparent to everyone.

With 18 minutes left to play, the 18-year-old chased down Shaaban who had come to clear the ball near the left touchline. Pato blocked the ball, then clipped in a wonderful first-time shot which flew into the back of the unguarded net. The goal formed a pleasing symmetry with Brazil's 5-2 triumph in 1958, which made a global icon out of Pele, then a mere teenage prodigy himself.

Just like 50 years ago, the result ended in Brazil's favour, but Sweden, preparing for UEFA EURO 2008, can be pleased with their performance, having contained the Brazilian threat for large periods of the game. Just one goal in their past four games is a worrying statistic for the Lars Lagerback's men, who will be eager to put things right against Slovenia in Ullevi on 26 May.