ALEX CROOK PREVIEW: England v Uruguay

 

We are less than three months from the start of the World Cup and England ramp up their preparations for north America with a double header of friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, writes ALEX CROOK.

First up at Wembley on Friday night the visit of a Uruguay side managed by former Leeds promotion-winning boss Marcelo Bielsa, which adds of a bit of intrigue.

This game is also being billed as an X-Factor-style audition with Thomas Tuchel taking on the role of Simon Cowell and judging which players to send home to make space for the 12 players we know won’t be involved to face Japan on Tuesday.

The fact captain Harry Kane is among those given a rest gives Dominic Solanke and Dominic Calvert-Lewin the opportunity to stake their claims for a seat on the plane.

Cole Palmer and Phil Foden will also want to impress as it is unlikely both will make the cut with Jude Bellingham and Aston Villa’s player of the season Morgan Rogers also vying for the coveted number 10 position.

In terms of the opposition, two-time world champions Uruguay are preparing for their fifth successive World Cup and have reached at least the quarter finals in two of their last four but underperformed in Qatar four years ago, crashing out in the group stage.

After that tournament they said goodbye to veterans Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani and their biggest name is former Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez although their best player, and arguably the best in South America, is Giorgian De Arrascaeta.

Galatasaray cult hero Fernando Muslera is expected to start in goal, weeks shy of his 40th birthday.

Defensively they are strong having conceded only 12 goals in qualifying while England have kept a clean sheet in every competitive game under Tuchel so this might prove quite a dull affair.

What Leeds fans know about Bielsa, who comes into this game under pressure, is that he demands a lot of energy and pressing from his team so Tuchel’s experimental line-up will have to be up that challenge in order to clock a confidence-boosting seventh straight win.

Uruguay actually have the edge over England in terms of previous meetings having beaten them five times and lost just three from 11 match-ups, including a famous 2-1 win in the group stage at the 2014 World Cup.

But they were thrashed 5-1 by the USA in a friendly in November after which the Uruguayan FA had to provide public reassurances over Bielsa’s position.

It feels a long time ago that Bielsa masterminded a victory over Brazil in qualifying.

The worry for England is that the heavy rotation is not conducive to a cohesive performance and Tuchel’s only defeat was in a friendly to Senegal at the City Ground when he rotated.

After a four-month break, the German will be chomping at the bit to get a positive result. I am backing England to win and under 3.5 goals at 21/20 with starsports.bet.

I also think England to win 2-1 at 15/2 with starsports.bet is a decent price.

If he gets minutes, Manchester United misfit Manuel Ugarte looks a good shout to be shown a card at 7/4 with starsports.bet.

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STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW Fri: England v Uruguay

England will continue their preparations for the 2026 World Cup when they take on Uruguay at Wembley Stadium on Friday night, writes JOE CITRONE.

In an unusual move, Tuchel has called up 35 players for their two fixtures over this international break, which starts against Uruguay and ends against Japan next Tuesday.

The idea is that Tuchel will use two different squads across the fixtures, giving him the chance to assess players who have so far remained on the fringes of his Three Lions set-up.

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England v Uruguay
International Friendly
19:45 ITV1 / STV / ITVX / STV Player

LAST FIVE STATS

HEAD-TO-HEAD
JUN 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP Uruguay 2-1 England
MAR 2006 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY England 2-1 Uruguay
MAR 1995 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY England 0-0 Uruguay
MAR 1990 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY England 1-2 Uruguay
JUN 1984 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Uruguay 2-0 England

ENGLAND
NOV 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Albania 0-2 England
NOV 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING England 2-0 Serbia
OCT 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Latvia 0-5 England
OCT 2025 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY England 3-0 Wales
SEP 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Serbia 0-5 England

URUGUAY
NOV 2025 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY USA 5-1 Uruguay
NOV 2025 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Mexico 0-0 Uruguay
OCT 2025 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Uzbekistan 1-2 Uruguay
OCT 2025 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Uruguay 1-0 Dominican Republic
SEP 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Chile 0-0 Uruguay

Uruguay are also ramping up their preparations for the 2026 World Cup, finishing one place above Brazil in their South American qualifying campaign, and so should provide England with a stern test on Friday.

However, considering England haven’t conceded a goal since October, I fancy them to keep another one on Friday, whilst picking up another morale-boosting victory ahead of the World Cup.