Wilshere: Chile played like Barcelona

Posted Tuesday, November 19, 2013 by YAHOO Sport

Jack Wilshere says Chile reminded him of Barcelona as it humbled England at Wembley on Friday.

Two goals from Barca star Alexis Sanchez ensured the South Americans remained undefeated on English soil, as Roy Hodgson's makeshift side failed to get into the kind of rhythm that saw it beat Montenegro and Poland in October to qualify for the World Cup.

Wilshere, who was withdrawn on 71 minutes after a subdued performance because of a calf injury, says England could learn from Chile's style.

"Against South American opposition, you expect little fouls like that and I'll be OK," he said. "South American teams like to make little fouls and break the game up which is frustrating but we could learn a bit from them sometimes. Maybe if we could pick that up from their character, a little foul here and there like they did doesn't hurt. Once they do little fouls, it slows play down and you have to stop, build up and it makes it difficult."

With such precision passing, the visitors reminded Wilshere of the Spanish giants.

"It was a tough game. I think the last time I played against a team like that was Barcelona, the way they keep the ball, the way they play out from the back and when they don’t have the ball they press, they press high and made it difficult for us," he said. "I think it was very good for us. They were a different style from Ukraine, a different style from a lot of teams we've played in the past and we’ll have to deal with both at the World Cup, especially as there's a few South American teams out there.

"At least we know now what to expect from those sort of teams and we can learn from it."