So, it turns out that it takes more than two players with Spanish names and a trace of Spanish blood to bring England up to speed with the subtleties of the Latin game.

And as the jeers rolled around an almost empty arena, here was a sobering reminder that decent results against Montenegro and Poland will not alone equip Roy Hodgson’s team for the tests which lie ahead in Brazil.

Chile arrived at Wembley in splendid form with an admirably competitive attitude towards this friendly, and they stretched England. With a slightly different shape and style, they were slick and fluent, strong and quick.

They broke up play on the sly, happy to commit a foul if it prevented England gathering momentum on the break and this frustration ate away at those in white shirts.

Moreover, Chile proved they have a balanced and talented team and this was a reality check, even with the mitigation of an experimental side including Adam Lallana and Jay Rodriguez.

Perhaps, that will not be considered a bad thing by the manager, but he will not have enjoyed the boos which accompanied the final whistle from those who had not bolted early for the Tube.

Alexis Sanchez scored both the goals, the first after seven minutes, the second in the fourth minute of added time and the Barcelona striker performed magnificently, an ever-present danger with his balance and explosions of pace.

Chile manager Jorge Sampaoli predicted Sanchez would be a star of next year’s World Cup, while in contrast England could not get their best player on the ball.

Wayne Rooney played the full 90 minutes and finished the game wearing the captain’s armband when Manchester United expected him to have his feet up by that stage of the evening.

As he looked on and digested only his second defeat in 23 games in the job, Hodgson rarely looked at ease. He spent much of the first half hopping around his technical area with steam coming out of his ears, imploring his players to squeeze higher up the pitch, and most of the second sunk in his seat with a sour look on his face.

On a night when he would have hoped to see just a glimmer of encouragement, that he had unearthed something new and exciting to fuel his thoughts over the winter months, he saw nothing but the worst of England.

At the back they were wide open at times, especially early in the game, when they were painfully vulnerable. As Hodgson made the necessary adjustments to plug the spaces, his team lost the early threat shown in attack and the second half was disrupted by endless substitutions until Sanchez put England out of their misery.

If there was one optimistic note, it can be said Lallana adapted effortlessly to international football, although this silver lining was swamped by a cloud when he limped off injured late in the game.

Hodgson expects Lallana to be fit to face Germany on Tuesday, although he fears Phil Jones, who suffered a groin injury, and Rickie Lambert will not.

Lallana’s Southampton team-mate Rodriguez looked further from his comfort zone and it was a mixed night for England’s third debutant. Fraser Forster made saves, but he was only seven minutes into his first international game when he was collecting the ball from his net, as Sanchez stooped to beat Leighton Baines to a fine cross by Eugenio Mena.

As the header crept inside a post, Ashley Cole may have smiled on the bench. There are nights when it is better not to play.

Baines has been in better form than Cole over the last 12 months and adds another dimension in an attacking sense, but doubts linger about his defensive solidity when compared to Cole.

The Everton left back was caught flat-footed by Sanchez, but it was not the only defensive mistake which led to the goal. England missed the steadying influence of Phil Jagielka at the back and the presence of Steven Gerrard.

Both full backs were badly exposed with little assistance, at least until Hodgson dropped Lallana and Rodriguez back from very advanced roles to solidify midfield. When England did flicker in attack they found Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo equal to their efforts with a sequence of athletic saves.

Bravo denied Jones when the game was still goalless and then Lallana, Frank Lampard and Jack Wilshere in quick succession before half-time. It is more than 60 years since an Englishman scored against Chile. The last was Nat Lofthouse.

Lallana snatched at another good opportunity after a pass from Rooney but in the second half England rarely tested the flamboyant Chile keeper and Sanchez struck on the counter-attack, finishing his sprint clear with a delicious chip over Forster.

It gave the result the emphatic feel it deserved and produced an identical result to the last time Chile were at Wembley, also when there was a World Cup looming.

On that occasion, Marcelo Salas scored twice and performed well in France 98 before moving to Lazio and Glenn Hoddle discovered Michael Owen was ready for the international game.

This time, unfortunately, the England manager did not leave Wembley with anything like the same consolation.

—Daily Mail