BEN WHITE SCORED his first international goal, gave away a penalty and was booed by his own fans as the England defender made an eventful return to the fold in an otherwise forgettable 1-1 friendly draw with Uruguay at Wembley.
The 28-year-old has not played for his country in four years and made himself unavailable for selection under Gareth Southgate, having returned from the 2022 World Cup due to what the Football Association called “personal reasons”.
White was drafted into the final squad before Thomas Tuchel names his World Cup selection after an injury to Jarell Quansah and the manager’s plea for the Arsenal man to receive a positive reception was ignored by some in the Wembley crowd.
The defender was booed by supporters when introduced as England’s eighth and final substitute on Friday and jeered again even after poking home in the 81st minute.
But the drama did not stop there as White was adjudged to have fouled Federico Vinas after a VAR review, with Federico Valverde levelling from the spot in stoppage time.
It was a manic end to what will be for some the last chance to earn a spot on the plane to the World Cup, with the squad to be rejigged as more familiar faces return for Tuesday’s friendly against Japan.
Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were among the established 11-strong contingent watching from the stands ahead of joining a group that will be cut down after this match.
England boss Tuchel trialled a variety of different players, with James Garner and James Trafford making their debuts on night that started brightly, only to swiftly fizzle out.
Harry Maguire, winning his first cap in 18 months, was commanding and confident, while Dominic Solanke saw a shot blocked before seeing another easily gathered.
But the sting got taken out of proceedings after Joaquin Piquerez suffered an early injury in a tangle with Noni Madueke, leading England fans to amuse themselves by aiming paper planes at the pitch.
England comfortably dealt with Uruguay but offered little by way of threat, with a wonderful run down the left by Marcus Rashford after a Valverde effort was blocked providing a rare moment of excitement.
A dull half was compounded by an injury to Madueke, who limped off shortly after being rocked by a Rodrigo Aguirre challenge.
Uruguay’s physical play enraged Tuchel as five minutes into the second half it looked like Phil Foden may also have sustained a game-ending injury.
The incandescent German raged at the officials after Ronald Araujo’s hefty challenge somehow went unpunished, despite leaving the Manchester City man in a heap clutching his left ankle.
Foden played on for a while before Cole Palmer was introduced along Dominic Calvert-Lewin, making his first international appearance since 2021.
The Leeds striker shot into the ground and then nodded agonisingly wide when unmarked from a free-kick shortly after Tuchel made a quadruple change.
Harvey Barnes, Kobbie Mainoo and Lewis Hall were brought on, with White then entering the field to boos from England fans.
Advertisement
The defender’s introduction sparked a wild conclusion. White looked to have made himself the hero of the night when he arrived at the far post and prodded home after a Palmer corner was flicked on.
The goal was cleared after a VAR check for an Adam Wharton block.
Uruguay midfielder Manuel Ugarte appeared to collect two bookings but avoided seeing red, with more drama following in stoppage time.
White was adjudged to have fouled Vinas after the referee was sent to the monitor and Valverde fired home a low stoppage-time penalty.
Elsewhere, Florian Wirtz starred for Germany with two stunning goals and two assists as Germany edged neighbours Switzerland 4-3 in a breathless friendly in Basel.
Switzerland twice led in the contest, with Dan Ndoye and then Breel Embolo putting the hosts in front. But Germany pegged them back both times, with Wirtz the architect of each goal.
His first assist was a pinpoint deep cross for Jonathan Tah’s first international goal and his second a defence-splitting pass for Serge Gnabry to make it 2-2.
But the Liverpool winger saved his best for the second half, finding the top corner from the corner of the penalty area to make it 3-2 and then producing another gem to settle the contest in Germany’s favour.
Mikel Oyarzabal scored two terrific goals as European champions Spain beat Serbia 3-0 to underline their status as leading title contenders at this year’s World Cup.
Real Sociedad forward Oyarzabal, who struck the winner against England in the Euro 2024 final, hammered in Spain’s opening goal in Villarreal after a clever move started by Lamine Yamal.
Oyarzabal drilled in his and his team’s second goal just before half-time with a crunching drive from 20 metres that flew past Serbia goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
Osasuna winger Victor Munoz came off the bench to score on his Spain debut and seal a convincing win for Luis de la Fuente’s side.
And Netherlands blunted Norway‘s high-scoring attack and ended their 13-match unbeaten run with a 2-1 victory at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam.
Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard were both absent for Norway, who took the lead through Andreas Schjelderup in the 24th minute.
Virgil van Dijk leapt unsupervised in front of goal to nod home a 35th-minute Tijjani Reijnders corner to bring the hosts level, and Reijnders put them ahead after 51 minutes.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
9 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Ben White booed, scores and concedes penalty as England held by Uruguay
England 1
Uruguay 1
BEN WHITE SCORED his first international goal, gave away a penalty and was booed by his own fans as the England defender made an eventful return to the fold in an otherwise forgettable 1-1 friendly draw with Uruguay at Wembley.
The 28-year-old has not played for his country in four years and made himself unavailable for selection under Gareth Southgate, having returned from the 2022 World Cup due to what the Football Association called “personal reasons”.
White was drafted into the final squad before Thomas Tuchel names his World Cup selection after an injury to Jarell Quansah and the manager’s plea for the Arsenal man to receive a positive reception was ignored by some in the Wembley crowd.
The defender was booed by supporters when introduced as England’s eighth and final substitute on Friday and jeered again even after poking home in the 81st minute.
But the drama did not stop there as White was adjudged to have fouled Federico Vinas after a VAR review, with Federico Valverde levelling from the spot in stoppage time.
It was a manic end to what will be for some the last chance to earn a spot on the plane to the World Cup, with the squad to be rejigged as more familiar faces return for Tuesday’s friendly against Japan.
Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were among the established 11-strong contingent watching from the stands ahead of joining a group that will be cut down after this match.
England boss Tuchel trialled a variety of different players, with James Garner and James Trafford making their debuts on night that started brightly, only to swiftly fizzle out.
Harry Maguire, winning his first cap in 18 months, was commanding and confident, while Dominic Solanke saw a shot blocked before seeing another easily gathered.
But the sting got taken out of proceedings after Joaquin Piquerez suffered an early injury in a tangle with Noni Madueke, leading England fans to amuse themselves by aiming paper planes at the pitch.
England comfortably dealt with Uruguay but offered little by way of threat, with a wonderful run down the left by Marcus Rashford after a Valverde effort was blocked providing a rare moment of excitement.
A dull half was compounded by an injury to Madueke, who limped off shortly after being rocked by a Rodrigo Aguirre challenge.
Uruguay’s physical play enraged Tuchel as five minutes into the second half it looked like Phil Foden may also have sustained a game-ending injury.
The incandescent German raged at the officials after Ronald Araujo’s hefty challenge somehow went unpunished, despite leaving the Manchester City man in a heap clutching his left ankle.
Foden played on for a while before Cole Palmer was introduced along Dominic Calvert-Lewin, making his first international appearance since 2021.
The Leeds striker shot into the ground and then nodded agonisingly wide when unmarked from a free-kick shortly after Tuchel made a quadruple change.
Harvey Barnes, Kobbie Mainoo and Lewis Hall were brought on, with White then entering the field to boos from England fans.
The defender’s introduction sparked a wild conclusion. White looked to have made himself the hero of the night when he arrived at the far post and prodded home after a Palmer corner was flicked on.
The goal was cleared after a VAR check for an Adam Wharton block.
Uruguay midfielder Manuel Ugarte appeared to collect two bookings but avoided seeing red, with more drama following in stoppage time.
White was adjudged to have fouled Vinas after the referee was sent to the monitor and Valverde fired home a low stoppage-time penalty.
******
Elsewhere, Florian Wirtz starred for Germany with two stunning goals and two assists as Germany edged neighbours Switzerland 4-3 in a breathless friendly in Basel.
Switzerland twice led in the contest, with Dan Ndoye and then Breel Embolo putting the hosts in front. But Germany pegged them back both times, with Wirtz the architect of each goal.
His first assist was a pinpoint deep cross for Jonathan Tah’s first international goal and his second a defence-splitting pass for Serge Gnabry to make it 2-2.
But the Liverpool winger saved his best for the second half, finding the top corner from the corner of the penalty area to make it 3-2 and then producing another gem to settle the contest in Germany’s favour.
Mikel Oyarzabal scored two terrific goals as European champions Spain beat Serbia 3-0 to underline their status as leading title contenders at this year’s World Cup.
Real Sociedad forward Oyarzabal, who struck the winner against England in the Euro 2024 final, hammered in Spain’s opening goal in Villarreal after a clever move started by Lamine Yamal.
Oyarzabal drilled in his and his team’s second goal just before half-time with a crunching drive from 20 metres that flew past Serbia goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
Osasuna winger Victor Munoz came off the bench to score on his Spain debut and seal a convincing win for Luis de la Fuente’s side.
And Netherlands blunted Norway‘s high-scoring attack and ended their 13-match unbeaten run with a 2-1 victory at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam.
Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard were both absent for Norway, who took the lead through Andreas Schjelderup in the 24th minute.
Virgil van Dijk leapt unsupervised in front of goal to nod home a 35th-minute Tijjani Reijnders corner to bring the hosts level, and Reijnders put them ahead after 51 minutes.
With reporting from – © AFP 2026
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
England Football Friendly Soccer