This week Daily Mail Sport set out some of the key questions England manager Thomas Tuchel was hoping to answer during two friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.
Here, our Football Editor IAN LADYMAN looks at how many solutions – if any – Tuchel found as his B team laboured to a 1-1 draw with Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay at Wembley.
CAN BEN WHITE REALLY GO TO THE WORLD CUP?
If the Arsenal defender was England’s best right-back then it wouldn’t really matter what his back story was. But the truth is that he isn’t and a truly remarkable 25 minutes at Wembley painted a pretty clear picture of what a risk it would be to take him to America.
We have seen most things watching England teams over the years but have ever seen – or heard – a player booed after scoring a goal? That would appear to be a new one for all of us.
White looked a little bemused and no wonder. He doubtless didn’t imagine he would be in this squad, never mind scoring his first international goal.
Tuchel is a manager who tends to cut through the noise and the emotion of international football and that’s a useful skill but even he can’t ignore what is a clear issue between White and the England football public.
There is a section who haven’t forgiven him for leaving camp early in Qatar 2022 and though it’s hard not to feel sorry for a young player it feels now as though the presence of a divisive figure in what could be a seven-week trip away from this summer is one that Tuchel and his squad could probably do without.
England’s first choice right-back is Reece James – currently injured – and Tuchel also has Tino Livramento and Djed Spence.
John Stones and Ezri Konsa can also play in that position and there is also a chap in Madrid by the name of Trent Alexander-Arnold. Do we need Ben White at the World Cup? Probably not.
CAN WE WIN THE BIG MOMENTS?
As dreadful as this game was to watch, it wasn’t the worst kind of warm-up for the World Cup.
Games will be played at this kind of pace in America and in the group stages in particular opponents will sit deep and try and frustrate England as Bielsa’s Uruguay did so effectively here.
This is one of the reasons Tuchel is so obsessed with the value of corners and set pieces. He thinks they will one of the keys to edging tight games in America.
Tournament football is all about winning the big moments and England didn’t do that here. They moaned about the penalty Uruguay were awarded but it’s the kind of decision that will be common in the World Cup where referees will be much tighter on penalty box contact than they are in the Premier League.
Indeed, this decision was similar to the one that Harry Kane got for England against Holland in the semi-final of Euro 2024 and Tuchel’s players should not be so naive as to think it wont go against them for real in the summer.
This was a game that only came to life in the last ten minutes and in the end England came close to losing it. If they don’t see that as a lesson then then they should.
WHAT IS ENGLAND’S BEST CENTRAL DEFENSIVE PARTNERSHIP?
If there is going to be one defender making a late dash to get on the plane for America then it’s Harry Maguire who played here like a man determined to grab a second chance.
When you think of Maguire in an England shirt it’s hard not to remember an awful night at Hampden Park in September 2023 when the Manchester United defender played so poorly against Scotland that it was tempting to wonder if he would ever really recover.
It has been a long road back for the 33-year-old who had played only five times for his country since then and not at all since September 2024. Here, Maguire was magnificent.
His ball carrying is often under-appreciated and was excellent while his presence at set pieces almost brought him an early goal.
If Tuchel had doubts about how being a squad member rather than an automatic pick would sit with Maguire then the defender seems intent on banishing them.
Indeed, with Jordan Henderson making way for Adam Wharton at half-time, Maguire emerged with the captain’s armband for the second period and led from the front with a sensational block to deny Uruguay a shock winner deep in added time. He’s had an exceptionally good week.
WHO PLAYS AT NUMBER TEN?
Tuchel outlined on Thursday how important it was for Cole Palmer to take his opportunity over this international period – and then didn’t pick him.
Instead it was Manchester City’s Phil Foden who started behind Dominic Solanke and his was an industrious but mixed contribution.
Out of the team at City at the moment, Foden is not the player he was. His instinct seems dimmed and his confidence low.
At times here he looked as though he was almost trying too hard as he drifted deep in search of the possession that would allow him to have the kind of influence he craves.
With just three months to go before the start of the World Cup, the best chance Foden has of being on the plane is the fact he’s versatile.
He wasn’t helped here by the clattering he took from Uruguay’s Ronald Araujo early in the second half and Palmer duly replaced him. Foden needs to have a good couple of months at club level.
WHAT HAPPENS WITHOUT HARRY?
The England captain Harry Kane sat high up in the rafters here with other members of Tuchel’s ‘senior’ group that will start training in earnest on Saturday ahead of Tuesday’s game with Japan.
There was nothing for him to see here that should make him worry for his place. The truth is that England don’t have another world class number nine.
What Tuchel has to choose from is a group of good Premier League forwards who you nevertheless wouldn’t wish to rely on at a World Cup.
Dominic Solanke started this game and had only scraps to feed on against a deep lying Uruguay defence.
He was largely anonymous until replaced by Dominic Calvert-Lewin with 35 minutes to go. Calvert-Lewin couldn’t convert a straight forward headed chance within minutes of coming on and the fact is that in America the goal threat is going to have to come from other areas.
From players such as Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers and Anthony Gordon.
Indeed on this occasion England’s most dangerous attacking force was Marcus Rashford, a player who is starting to feed off the confidence Tuchel clearly has in him.
He will be on the plane and looks to face a straight fight with Gordon for the starting berth on the left wing.
Thomas TuchelEngland Football