CUIABA, Brazil, June 18 (Xinhua) — England-born striker Ben Brereton scored on his first international start as Chile beat Bolivia 1-0 in their Copa America Group A clash on Friday.
The 22-year-old collected an Eduardo Vargas pass in the 10th minute before side-stepping his marker and rifling a low finish past goalkeeper Carlos Lampe at Arena Pantanal.
He almost struck again five minutes later but his well-timed header from an Arturo Vidal cross was parried clear by Lampe.
Chile manager Martin Lasarte replaced a noticeably fatigued Brereton with Pablo Aranguiz in the 84th minute after a tireless display in humid conditions.
The 1.83m forward was given his first start by Lasarte after an impressive 13-minute cameo in a 1-1 draw with Argentina on Monday.
Brereton, who plays for Blackburn Rovers in English football’s second tier, wore the England national shirt at U19 and U20 level. He decided to represent the birthplace of his mother after being sounded out by Chilean football officials earlier this year.
Friday’s result leaves Chile with four points from their first two matches of the tournament while Bolivia have lost both of their fixtures to date.
