WAYNE Rooney's long-awaited first goal in the World Cup finals was not enough for sorry England – who were trumped by a double from Uruguay talisman Luis Suarez.
A second 2-1 defeat in Group D leaves England's qualification for the next stage hanging by a thread.
The scoreline may have been the same as against Italy – but England's performance was nowhere near as good as in the first match.
This match was played in vastly different conditions to England's opener against Italy, with the heat and humidity of the Amazonian rainforest replaced by a more familiar climate.
Sao Paulo is nicknamed "Terra da Garoa" – the Land of Drizzle – and it lived up to that.
There was a wonderful atmosphere in the stadium, but also a fair share of nerves, clearly also felt by the goalkeepers during the early stages
Fernando Muslera was fortunate that Daniel Sturridge had given up on a Leighton Baines through-ball when he inexplicably fumbled the tame pass.
When play swung the other way, Joe Hart was unable to prevent a deflected Suarez cross from going behind, with the resulting corner from the Liverpool man set to sneak in at the near post until the England goalkeeper's scrambling intervention.
Play settled and Diego Godin was left walking a tightrope after only nine minutes, blocking a Sturridge flick with his hand to get a yellow card.
Rooney curled the 22-yard free kick over the wall and inches away from his first goal at a World Cup finals.
England were looking confident but, like against Italy, susceptible at the back as well.
Cristian Rodriguez came close to exposing that soft underbelly after 16 minutes, with Phil Jagielka's hashed clearance falling into the winger's path and he met it with a fizzing left-footed strike that just cleared the bar.
Sturridge saw an attempt loop over due to a timely Alvaro Pereira block but it was Uruguay who were starting to edge the game.
Hart did well to stop Martin Caceres reaching a free kick at the far post and soon after Gary Cahill slid in to deny Edinson Cavani, whose first-time shot from the resulting corner was not far off.
England's front-line were interchanging positions in a bid to unsettle Uruguay's backline, with Godin fortunate not to receive a second booking for blocking Sturridge with a flailing arm as he attempted to reach a through-ball.
That free kick came to nothing but they soon had another set piece – one which saw the Uruguay crossbar rattled.
Steven Gerrard floated in a fine ball to the back post, where Rooney outjumped Caceres and powered a close-range header off the goal frame.
Sturridge sent an audacious effort over and forced Muslera into a save, although the latter opportunity came only after Uruguay had scored their 39th-minute opener.
After the ball ricocheted off Gerrard, it was spread out wide to Cavani and, allowed too much space by Glen Johnson, his wonderful chipped pass to the back post was brilliantly headed back across goal by Suarez – who sneaked behind Jagielka.
Neither side made changes for the second half, which was only four minutes old when Uruguay first threatened to double their advantage.
Suarez was again causing problems, aiming another corner at the near post and forcing Hart into a parry which, fortunately for him, was not straight into the path of an opponent.
A last-ditch Gerrard block stopped Alvaro Gonzalez with England on the ropes.
Only poor finishing prevented Uruguay from extending their lead.
First, a fortunate deflection put Suarez though only for him to drag wide, then Cavani ran between Johnson and Cahill, somehow screwing wide with only Hart to beat.
England were riding their luck and almost capitalised in the 54th minute, as Rooney met a Baines cross and sent a low strike that Muslera denied with a great save.
The Uruguay goalkeeper collided with Welbeck as the England forward attempted to reach another Baines cross and then collected a hopeful Jordan Henderson shot, before Sterling saw penalty appeals waved away.
Pereira required treatment after taking a knee to the head during Sterling's run – the winger's last contribution before being replaced by Ross Barkley.
Adam Lallana followed him on to the field after Gerrard was booked for a late challenge, with England becoming increasingly frustrated.
Sturridge hit straight at Muslera as hope began to seep away, only for the Three Lions to eke out the leveller they so desperately craved.
Glen Johnson made great progress down the right and stretched to send a cross through the legs of Gonzalez into the path of the unmarked Rooney, who pounced to stab home inside the six-yard box.
The normally mild-mannered Hodgson punched the air in celebration and was almost doing so again moments later as Sturridge made room to test Muslera.
Again, though, it is not the attack which has been England's issue at this tournament.
This time it was captain Gerrard at fault, accidentally heading towards his own goal under pressure into the path of Liverpool team-mate Suarez, who had broken free of the England backline and rifled home superbly from an acute angle.
The striker raced off in an emotional celebration after the goal which England were unable to find an answer to, with Suarez held aloft by his team-mates at the final whistle.
