Ben Brereton made his Chile debut, and sent social media into a spin, when he came off the bench in the 1-1 draw with Argentina.

That was Chile’s first game in the Copa America which is this year being staged in Brazil.

Brereton was an unused substitute in World Cup qualifiers against Argentina and Bolivia earlier this month, before being handed his debut off the bench on Monday night.

How did Brereton earn a Chile call-up?

Chile first became aware of Brereton’s eligibility at the end of 2020, and Brereton revealed there was a four month qualification process that he had to undertake to represent La Roja.

He qualified for selection because of his mother, Andrea, who was born in Concepción, in the Bio Bio region of the country.

Brereton earned his first call-up for the World Cup qualifying double-header, and had a full week training with his team-mates before their first fixture.

Brereton pledged his allegiance to Chile despite playing for England up to Under-19s level, the Stoke-on-Trent born forward starting his career with Manchester United and then the Potters, before moving onto Nottingham Forest where he made his first-team bow.

He then moved to Rovers, initially on loan, in August 2018 before that deal became permanent in January 2019 for a fee in the region of £6m.

A seven-goal haul in 2020/21 for Rovers was the backbone of his selection, with Chile keen to boost their attacking options, with the feeling that the side which enjoyed so much success under Marcelo Bielsa is starting to come to its end.

How did he fare?

Brereton was trending on Twitter as the No.1 topic in Chile after he replaced Carlos Palacios in the 77th minute.

TNT Sports Chile gave Brereton a rating of six, though we are led to believe their ratings are out of seven.

They wrote: “The English-Chilean attacker played his first minutes with the red jersey and tried to make a difference with his great strength: physical power. It left good impressions for the future.”

When could Brereton next be in action?

The Argentina game was the first of Chile’s four group fixtures, with the top four sides in the group qualifying for the knockout stages.

They face Bolivia on Friday, before games against Uruguay (June 21) and current group leaders Paraguay (June 25).

All matches get under way at 10pm BST, with the games shown on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

What are the chances of him starting?

Brereton earned praise for his cameo, playing as a central striker, a role he has long-term aims of playing for with Rovers. The 22-year-old replaced Carlos Palacios who is understood to have sustained an ankle injury which puts his involvement in the upcoming games in doubt.

Chile are already without star man Alexis Sanchez for at least the group stages because of an injury, and with games coming every four days, boss Martin Lasarte has indicated he will shuffle his pack and share minutes around his squad.

What has Chile manager Martin Lasarte said of Brereton?

“Ben has been adapting gradually, he did not speak any word of Spanish, apart from his Chilean mother, but he has adapted well. We are trying to get him to learn a few words for days. He makes a great effort to adapt to his team-mates and that makes him feel more comfortable.

“The moment to give him a chance is coming, he is training very well. We don't want to burn him, we want to use him at the right time, that's the idea.”