It all comes down to three words: location, location, location. There is a time and a place for a friendly match against Brazil and, unfortunately for England, the invite stipulated a Saturday evening in Doha in mid-November.

The Khalifa International Stadium is the stunning centre point of what is called the Aspire Zone, the 250-hectare sports complex that is essential to Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup finals.

Aspire is certainly the right word, given the emirate’s bold ambition to overcome a lack of historical pedigree and acquire a place somewhere near the centre of the sporting universe, and there can be few better advertisements than an exhibition match between England and Brazil, respectively the founders and the masters of the world’s most popular sport.

When this fixture was announced several months ago, the idea was that there would be benefits for all concerned. For the emerging nation of Qatar, the advantages are obvious, with the opportunity to stage a top-class sporting event; for Brazil, it was just another high-profile stop on their lucrative “world tour”; for England, while the financial spin-off is estimated to be a relatively meagre £400,000, this was supposed to be the opportunity for Fabio Capello’s team to measure themselves against the favourites for next summer’s World Cup.

To take in England’s open training session at the Khalifa International Stadium last night, though, was to find yourself questioning the value of the exercise. John Terry, the captain, was on the sidelines with an Achilles tendon injury and only two of Capello’s first-choice starting line-up, Gareth Barry and Wayne Rooney, were able to train.

The rest were back in England, nursing injuries, among them Frank Lampard, who, if reports in one newspaper yesterday were to be believed, suspects that he aggravated a small tear in his left thigh through his discomfort in economy class on the seven-hour flight to Doha on Wednesday.

Capello and Barry rejected the notion yesterday that Lampard’s injury — he is expected to be out for three weeks — had been brought on by the flight. Barry, the Manchester City midfield player, said that it was “just a normal journey, really” and that “getting on and off the plane, I wasn’t expecting anything different”.

However, it was more tempting to speculate last night just how much damage might have been done to England’s morale by the time they board their overnight flight back to London after this evening’s game.

Even if, with the obvious exception of Kaká, few of the names in the Brazil team inspire quite the awe or reverence of their illustrious predecessors, there is a distinct imbalance on the team-sheet. It is a situation that might be best illustrated on Brazil’s right flank, where, in Maicon and Daniel Alves, they have two of the most potent wide players in world football.

Marking them, on England’s left-hand side, will be Wayne Bridge, in such poor form for Manchester City, and James Milner, starting an international game for the first time.

The challenge for England’s fringe players this evening — Wes Brown, Michael Carrick and Shaun Wright-Phillips, three longstanding squad members far from assured of their places for South Africa next summer, as well as Bridge, Milner and Darren Bent — is to prove that they belong in such elevated company. Much focus will be on Rooney if, as expected, he wears the captain’s armband for the first time, but in Capello’s mind, the injuries to nine of his preferred starting XI mean that the game has assumed a different dimension.

“For sure, I had thought we would have a first-choice team for this game, but, for me, it is really important to understand the value of some players who will play,” Capello said. “I know very well that when these players play with their clubs, they play very well. Sometimes when they play in the Champions League or the Europa League, they are not the same, so I want to understand what happens when they play against one of the best teams in the world.”

So the injuries are a blessing in disguise? “This is a big chance for me,” he said. “For me, the cup is always half full of water.”

That said, the opportunity that has arisen for Bent, the Sunderland forward, is one that Capello, in an ideal world, would have offered to Carlton Cole. Cole’s groin injury, which he suffered in front of Capello during West Ham United’s 2-1 victory over Aston Villa ten days ago, was untimely, but Bent has been urged by the England manager to try to take advantage of the situation. “I want to know more [about Bent],” Capello said. “I want a good performance and the same goals he scores in the Premier League. I like his pace — he’s quick, he attacks the space, his movement without the ball, his ability in front of goal is good. He scores goals.”

Bent’s previous four appearances for England have brought little joy. After a costly miss in the closing stages of the ill-fated final European Championship qualifier against Croatia at Wembley in November 2007, the last match of Steve McClaren’s tenure, he had to wait 12 months to win his next cap.

That came in the friendly against Germany in Berlin last November, when, having been sent on as a substitute by Capello, he took the ball around the goalkeeper and shot wide of the empty goal. Another 12 months on, this is not so much an opportunity as a last chance.

That match in Berlin, though, is one from which Capello’s players can draw inspiration. On that occasion, when England were similarly bereft of key personnel, Matthew Upson, Barry and Glen Johnson produced performances that went a long way towards convincing the manager of their worth.

There was also an encouraging display that night from Wright-Phillips, but he knows that — facing competition from Theo Walcott, Aaron Lennon and David Beckham on the right wing — he must make the most of his opportunity this evening.

The challenge for those involved today is to seize the chance to impress Capello. If they do not, it could be a chastening evening for England. Barry was asked yesterday whether there was a distinct danger that they could find themselves on the wrong end of “a hammering”. He said that he and his team-mates would not allow such thoughts to enter their minds, but if the worst happen happens and a heavy defeat ensues, the long flight from Doha back tonight will not be an enjoyable one.