England’s exit from the World Cup has been greeted in a remarkably low-key fashion — and that is perhaps the biggest worry of all.

There have been the snide remarks by mainstream media and social media, and there has been no shortage of wisecracks:

Those plonkers couldn’t beat the staff at Costa Coffee, never mind Costa Rica!

England are to get a new captain. His name is Roger Smith. He’s the pilot on the way home.

What positives can England take? I think some rooms are refundable.

England have finally cracked how to stop getting knocked out on penalties.

But, in no time at all, English football has returned to business as usual. It helps that, in their absence, the World Cup has continued to develop into a genuinely memorable tournament. But it is disturbing that the focus of much of the media attention is on transfer targets, with yet more international stars being linked with moves to the Barclays Premier League.

The other side of that coin should be all about England’s rising stars being courted by some of Europe’s top sides, but yet again that really does not look like happening. Rumours a week ago of Raheem Sterling attracting admiring glances from Real Madrid have not progressed into anything more concrete.

Emerging talent Thomas Ince, son of Paul, the former Premier League and Serie A star, reportedly turned down the chance to follow in father’s footsteps to Inter Milan and has signed for Hull City after also touting his talents around Stoke City and Crystal Palace.

No disrespect to any of those clubs — and least of all to Hull — but English players need to get out more. In fact they need to get out of the country more, and not just on vacation.

A study of the squads for the tournament reveals that only Russia selected an entire 23 from their own league. But England could find only one exile, if such a term can be applied to Fraser Forster, the goalkeeper at Celtic and confined to the bench in Brazil.

And no one should be tempted to suggest that the Premier League is so packed with English talent that Roy Hodgson need not venture from his own doorstep in picking the squad. It isn’t. The results don’t lie.

The Premier League supplied 120 players to this year’s World Cup, more than any other competition. But 98 of them turned out for 28 of the other nations, and all 31 of England’s rivals included players who have featured in the Premier League in recent years.

It is a situation that raises the question of whether England’s best players are good enough for La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 or wherever. And the answer is that, unless things change, we’ll never know.

American pulses are unlikely to be racing over the arrival at Toronto FC of Jermain Defoe and the likelihood of Frank Lampard appearing at New York City, the new Major League Soccer franchise.

The last England side to impress — eventually — at the World Cup did so in 1990, with starring performances from the likes of Chris Waddle (Marseilles), Gary Lineker (recently back from Barcelona) and David Platt (heading for Bari, Juventus and Sampdoria).

Since then, England’s overseas contingent has extended to David Beckham, a fading Michael Owen and Owen Hargreaves, who was raised in Canada.

Much is said and written in and around English football about up-and-coming youngsters being denied the opportunities to progress because of the influx of imports. The response should be to raise their game, be braver and more adventurous.

England’s promising youngsters will develop better as players and as people by taking, and improving, their talents abroad.

World Cup six-pack

Comic Klinsmann: Jürgen Klinsmann was a World Cup winner at Italia ’90 and a member of the team that beat England on penalties. He was also accused of diving, and poked fun at his critics with a memorable goal celebration after joining Spurs in 1994.

Marcel missed out: Marcel Desailly joined Chelsea immediately after winning the World Cup with France in 1998. His time at Stamford Bridge brought trophies, but he left the year before Chelsea won the title.

City swoop: Manchester City’s representation in Brazil was into double figures and they were also one of the first clubs to sign a World Cup star, with the recruitment of Poland’s Kazimierz Deyna in 1978.

Hit man Hamann: Dietmar Hamann became a Premier League favourite after the 1998 World Cup, but “blotted” his copybook by scoring the last goal in the old Wembley Stadium, where Germany won a qualifier for the 2002 World Cup. It was the result that brought about the resignation of Kevin Keegan and the introduction of Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Kléberson crocked: Manchester United had high expectations of Kléberson when the midfielder arrived at Old Trafford after winning the World Cup with Brazil in 2002. But he made only 20 Premier League appearances in two injury-hit seasons before departing for Besiktas.

Diouf downfall: El-Hadji Diouf was signed by Liverpool after impressing for Senegal at the 2002 World Cup, but was dogged by allegations of spitting and other offensive behaviour as he dropped down the leagues.

n Phil Ascough, the author of Never Mind The Penalties — The Ultimate World Cup Quiz Book (foreword by Kevin Kilbane) and Never Mind The Tigers, both published by The History Press, was a senior reporter and sub-editor at The Royal Gazette from 1989 to 1992