At last an Englishman scores…for Chile!

ONE ENGLISHMAN did score on Friday night and Ben Brereton became an instant Chilean hero with his match- winner against Bolivia in the Copa America.

Blackburn Rovers striker Brereton, who represented England at youth level, was making his first start for his adopted nation.

He scored the only goal of the game in the 10th minute, finding the net at the end of a slick counterattack, and saw his social media following explode across Latin America as memes depicting him as the messiah went viral.

Brereton’s mother Andrea was born in Chile and the Chilean FA tracked his progress for months as they planned ahead for regeneration beyond the golden era of Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal.

Chile’s technical director Francis Cagigao worked in scouting roles at Arsenal for 23 years and was aware of Brereton’s eligibility, although the process was complicated by the pandemic and various lockdowns.

Brereton, who was born in Stoke and emerged through the Nottingham Forest academy, was persuaded to make the switch last year after a conversation over Zoom with Reinaldo Rueda, who was then Chile boss.

But Rueda was soon dismissed and has since taken charge of Colombia. Martin Lasarte replaced him, but the Chileans convinced Brereton (right) they were still very keen t o bring him i nto t he squad.

He visited the Chilean Embassy to complete the paperwork for dual nationality and his Chilean passport and joined the squad for the first time for World Cup qualifiers in May, adding his mother’s maiden name Diaz to Brereton on the back of his shirt. Brereton’s debut came from the bench in a 1-1 draw against Argentina in Rio on Monday, as South America paid its tribute to Diego Maradona with a a spectacular light show, and he started up front on Friday against Bolivia in Cuiaba. Chile’s next fixture is tomorrow against Uruguay.