Match Preview: England v Chile

Who are we playing?
Chile

Big game?
No, frankly. It's one of two Wembley friendlies before the international break. Not much use in terms of World Cup preparation but of great use in helping the FA foot the bill for the stadium. This is a pity, because these games might have created more of a buzz if they could have been played out in the provinces.


Where are we playing?
Wembley Stadium, in Wembley, in London. Wembley is not the loveliest part of the UK, but they still decided to build the national stadium there, giving foreign visitors a less than sparkling impression of our fair nation.

Can I go?
Still some tickets last time we looked (Monday), been bombarded with e-mails advertising the tickets. The away section is showing as sold out, but we won't have given them anything like the massive chunk of the stadium handed to the Poles.

Let the train take the strain

Easy to get to?
Driving and parking can be a pain and you know what those motorways can get like of a Friday. If you are travelling from Birmingham, the train is probably your best bet, with direct trains from Moor Street to the Stadium, and trains back at 22:18, 22:50 or the last one at 23:17 if you fancy a cheeky couple of post match pints.

Can I watch it on the telly?
Despite BT Sport's land grab of sporting rights, itv still have the England games (not sure what else they'll still have, possibly just the dominos). Sadly, Roy Keane's decision to help Martin O'Neill out in Ireland will rob us TV viewers of his "charms" at England games, but hey, we've still got Lee "Mister Charisma" Dixon to enjoy.

Who's playing for us?
Woy has already said that Joe Hart won't play in both games, so we'll get to see his understudies in action. It would be odd if he didn't give the Southampton new boys a run out having called them up and there'll be interest in seeing if Andros Townsend can reproduce his encouraging October form.

Rickie Lambert, Michael Carrick, Danny Welbeck, Steven Gerrard and Kyle Walker are all ruled out.

Goalkeepers
Fraser Forster, Joe Hart, John Ruddy

Defenders
Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Kieran Gibbs, Phil Jagielka, Glen Johnson, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling

Midfielders
Ross Barkley, Tom Cleverley, Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Andros Townsend, Jack Wilshere

Forwards
Jermain Defoe, Jay Rodriguez, Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge

Who's playing for them?

1. Claudio Bravo - Real Sociedad (España)
2. Johnny Herrera - Universidad de Chile (Chile)
3. Cristopher Toselli - Universidad Católica (Chile)
4. Mauricio Isla – Juventus (Italia)
5. Gary Medel – Cardiff City FC (Gales)
6. Marcos González – Flamengo (Brasil)
7. Eugenio Mena – Santos (Brasil)
8. Gonzalo Jara - Nottingham Forest (Inglaterra)
9. José Rojas - Universidad de Chile (Chile)
10. José Pedro Fuenzalida - Colo Colo (Chile)
11. Marcelo Díaz – Basel FC (Suiza)
12. Carlos Carmona - Atalanta (Italia)
13. Arturo Vidal – Juventus (Italia)
14. Matías Fernández - Fiorentina (Italia)
15. Francisco Silva - Osasuna (España)
16. Felipe Gutiérrez - FC Twente (Holanda)
17. Charles Aránguiz - Universidad de Chile (Chile)
18. Jean Beausejour - Wigan Athletic (Inglaterra)
19. Jorge Valdivia - Palmeiras (Brasil)
20. Alexis Sánchez - FC Barcelona (España)
21. Junior Fernandes - Dinamo Zagreb (Croacia)
22. Eduardo Vargas - Gremio (Brasil)
23. Carlos Muñoz - Baniyas SC (Emiratos Árabes Unidos)

Any useless stats and info?
Of course, here you go:

Nat Lofthouse

• This is only the sixth ever meeting between the nations.

• England last beat Chile in 1953 with goals from Tommy Taylor and Nat Lofthouse. The game was refereed by Englishman Arthur Ellis.

• Our last encounter with Chile came in 1998, Glenn Hoddle's side going down two-nil with Michael Owen and Alan Shearer shooting blanks. Both Chile goals came from Marcelo Salas, although one of those was a penalty

• Chile secured their place at the 2014 World Cup with a 2-1 win over Ecuador.  Striker Alexis Sanchez and midfielder Gary Medel scored in the first half for Chile with Felipe Caicedo pulling one back for the Ecuadoreans.

Prediction:
A high scoring draw, followed by lots of hand-wringing about the state of the national team in the papers.