In the grand scheme of things, it may not mean much to emerge as the Man of a Match from an England friendly in which they recorded just 34% possession, but that shouldn't take away from how impressive Liverpool youngster Joe Gomez was against Brazil at Wembley.

This was a 20-year-old, upon his first start at international level, making only his 15th appearance as a centre-back throughout his senior career and one of his only outings in a back three, successfully shackling a Selecao attack that included the most expensive player in the history of the sport, Neymar, a playmaker desired by Barcelona, Philippe Coutinho, and arguably the Premier League's most talented young forward, Gabriel Jesus.

Of course, that was a collective effort - Gareth Southgate set out his England side not to concede and wait for chances on the counter-attack, which is exactly what they did. All three centre-backs impressed at Wembley, and their quality and commitment was essential to the clean sheet.

However, it was still the Reds defender that made the most significant contributions, not least because Neymar lined up directly against him for much of the match. The PSG man was kept exceptionally quiet by his usual standards and there was an even a moment when Gomez's refusal to let Neymar turn pushed him all the way back from the edge of England's box into Brazil's own half.

Accordingly, Gomez finished up with the most clearances and the most interceptions of any player on the pitch. But his ability and composure on the ball, something vital to England's three-man defence being successful in Russia next summer, stood out as well.

He completed 87% of his passes, twice dribbled clear of attackers in his own third and had 60 touches of the ball - only Eric Dier and Kyle Walker finished up with more.

It remains to be seen if Gomez will make the cut when Southgate drafts his World Cup squad next summer, simply because of his age and the wide number of alternatives. But the young defender certainly laid down a strong case for himself and already appears a good fit for England's new-look back-three, built upon mobile and technical defenders rather than the traditional English centre-back mould.

Southgate will certainly have taken note of how easily Gomez has adapted to the international game. But do you think he'll make it to Russia next summer? Let us know by voting below...

https://video.footballfancast.com/video-2015/PL25(09-10).mp4