England coach Thomas Tuchel wanted to see his second guard in the World Cup friendly against Uruguay. He didn’t experience much.
In the 1-1 draw in front of 80,500 spectators at Wembley Stadium in London, Ben White (81st) from Arsenal FC gave the hosts the lead, Federico Valverde (90th + 4) from Real Madrid equalized for the team from South America.
Newly formed team: Tuchel rotates
Tuchel had already announced in advance that he wanted to try out a few things and also use the international matches for screening purposes. Compared to the last World Cup qualifier, the 2-0 win in Albania, he sent a completely renewed eleven onto the pitch.
In front of goalkeeper James Trafford, Tino Livramento, Fikayo Tomori, Harry Maguire and Djed Spence formed the back four. Jordan Henderson and James Garner played before that. Noni Madueke, Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford started in the attacking three-man line of a 4-2-3-1 formation, while Dominic Solanke was at the forefront. Stars like Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane weren’t even in the squad. At Uruguay, legendary coach Marcelo Bielsa relied on well-known names – for example Federico Valverde from Real Madrid, who has recently performed brilliantly.
The hosts recently presented themselves in impressive form. The “Three Lions” won all eight games of the World Cup qualification, with an impressive 22-0 goals. There were a total of nine wins from the last ten international matches, all without conceding a goal. Only a friendly against Senegal last summer was lost.
However, Uruguay is considered unpleasant for any opponent. Under Bielsa, “La Celeste” confidently qualified fourth in the South American qualifiers for the World Cup finals, level on points with Brazil.
England lacks ideas, Uruguay compact
And that’s how the game began. Tuchel’s team took command from the start and collected plenty of possession. However, it was clear that the team had never played together like this before. Uruguay fought hard and ran well, but were unlucky early on – Joaquín Piquerez had to leave the field after just 15 minutes due to an injury.
The game then took place primarily between the two penalty areas. There were a few half-chances, but they did not embarrass England goalkeeper Trafford or his opposite number Fernando Muslera. To be honest, it wasn’t an entertaining football game. The German referee Sven Jablonski probably also saw it that way. It went into the break 0-0.
It didn’t get any better, but White scored
At the beginning of the second half, England’s play improved. Cole Palmer, who came into the game for Phil Foden, caused a bit of a stir, and Rashford also became more agile. However, Uruguay remained compact and strong in defense, so that Tuchel’s team’s attempts were ineffective. Uruguay itself had no offensive ambitions.
The game sputtered along and the fans at Wembley Stadium have to be given credit for not whistling in response.
The standards didn’t work either. Uruguay’s Giorgian de Arrascaeta uninspiredly took a free kick from 25 meters far over the goal. Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed England’s first good chance in the 71st minute when he put the ball past the goal after a sharp free-kick cross from Palmer.
The lead for the English came out of the blue. After a corner from Palmer, White maneuvered the ball into the goal – a crooked thing.
Goalscorer White takes a penalty
In the follow-up game the English struggled to win, and again White was involved. Uruguay threatened the goal for the first time in the second half, White caught Federico Vinas on the ankle and Jablonski pointed to the spot. Valverde converted the penalty to make it 1-1.
England now against Japan
In the end it was a draw, and Tuchel will have learned that it probably won’t work without his regular staff, at least not on the offensive. On Tuesday against Japan he will have another opportunity to test his team. Uruguay will then play in Algeria.
