It’s their first meeting at Wembley since 1995.
England welcome Uruguay to Wembley for the first time in over two decades as they ramp up their preparations for the World Cup, with a host of players looking to cement their place in Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the trip to North America.
The Three Lions’ first of two friendlies before Tuchel’s squad for the 2026 World Cup is named will take place almost 21 years to the day since La Celeste drew 0-0 at the home of English football on their last visit.
That game was forgettable, but England fans have painful memories of their most recent clash with Uruguay, a 2-1 defeat at the 2014 World Cup that sent Roy Hodgson’s out in the group stage.
There are still a couple of players who featured that day in São Paulo among the squads for England and Uruguay. Jordan Henderson retains a spot among the England midfielders, while Fernando Muslera is one of the three goalkeepers in Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay squad.
This game, though, will not have any of the drama of that absorbing contest, settled by a late Luis Suarez winner, with the focus for Tuchel on evaluating those players whose spot on the plane for the World Cup is far from secure.
Tuchel named a 35-man squad for this game and the subsequent friendly with Japan. However, 11 players selected will not join up until after the game with Uruguay, while several of those in the camp will depart ahead of the meeting with Japan.
Goalkeeper Dean Henderson, centre-backs Dan Burn, Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa and Manchester City’s EFL Cup-winning hero Nico O’Reilly have all been rested, as have midfielders Elliott Anderson and Declan Rice. Further forward, Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon, Bukayo Saka and talisman Harry Kane will also not report until after Friday’s contest.
With England set to field a much-changed side, Uruguay may see this test as a chance to restore a positive feeling in their camp and banish memories of a 5-1 loss to United States in their most recent fixture.
Uruguay are set to feature in their fifth successive World Cup, with their final friendly before Bielsa names his squad taking place against Algeria in Torino on Tuesday.
Star midfielder Federico Valverde did not feature in that chastening defeat to the USA, and will be one of the danger men for Uruguay as they aim to become the first team to beat Tuchel’s England at Wembley, where the Three Lions have not lost since a surprise October 2024 defeat to Greece in the UEFA Nations League.
Team news for England v Uruguay
With 11 of the squad who appear likely to go to the World Cup left out for this game, it will be a very different England side that takes the pitch at Wembley.
Jordan Pickford could captain the side in goal, while one of Tino Livramento or Djed Spence will likely play at right-back. It would be a surprise if Livramento’s Newcastle United team-mate Lewis Hall does not start at left-back. In the middle of the back four, Harry Maguire, John Stones and Fiyako Tomori will hope for a chance to impress.
Cole Palmer and Phil Foden will each have their eyes on the number 10 role in the absence of Rogers, though Jude Bellingham could also start in that spot.
Marcus Rashford, Noni Madueke and Jarrod Bowen are in competition for playing time on the wings with Saka and Gordon rested. Dominic Calvert-Lewin should be the frontrunner to start up top in Kane’s stead.
Uruguay are without Rodrigo Bentancur as the Tottenham midfielder recovers from hamstring surgery, but there will be plenty of familiar faces in Marcelo Bielsa’s side, with Real Madrid’s Valverde and Manchester United’s Manuel Ugarte likely to feature in the engine room.
Former Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez figures to lead the line for Uruguay.
Predicted line-ups for England v Uruguay
England: Pickford; Livramento, Maguire, Stones, Hall; Wharton, Mainoo; Madueke, Palmer, Rashford; Calvert-Lewin.
Uruguay: Rochet; Varela, Gimenez, R. Araujo, Olivera; Valverde, Ugarte, De Arrascaeta; Pellistri, Nunez, M. Araujo.
Where to watch England v Uruguay: TV and online streams
England v Uruguay kicks off at 7:45pm UK time on Friday. It will be broadcast on ITV 1 and can be streamed via ITV X. Sky subscribers can also stream the game via Sky Go.
Stats for England v Uruguay
- This is the first meeting between England and Uruguay since the 2014 World Cup, when the Three Lions were beaten 2-1 and knocked out of the tournament under manager Roy Hodgson. England have just a 27% win ratio against them (P11 W3), only having lower against Brazil (15%, P27 W4) and Romania (25%, P12 W3) among nations they’ve faced 10+ times.
- Two of the four previous games between England and Uruguay at Wembley have ended 0-0, with those goalless games at the 1966 World Cup and in a 1995 friendly. They are one of only three nations England have drawn more than one game 0-0 against at Wembley, along with Wales (3) and Sweden (2).
- England have won two of their last 11 matches against South American nations (D5 L4), beating Brazil in February 2013 and Peru in May 2014. They’re winless in five since that Peru win (D3 L2).
- England have kept a clean sheet in 11 of their last 12 matches, including the last six in a row since a 3-1 defeat to Senegal in June 2025. Another clean sheet in this game will equal the Three Lions’ record for consecutive clean sheets in June/July 2021, a run of seven.
- Uruguay lost their last match, suffering a 5-1 defeat to the USA. They haven’t lost consecutive games since losing four in a row in October/November 2021 in their final four games under Oscar Tabárez.
- Bielsa will manage his third game against England – he drew 0-0 at Wembley in February 2000 and lost 1-0 at the 2002 World Cup as Argentina boss. This game will be 26 years and 32 days since his last game at Wembley, a record for a manager in games versus England – Bernd Stange has the current record (25 years and 32 days, Sept 1984 with East Germany – Oct 2009 with Belarus).
Prediction for England v Uruguay
This game is more about the audition for those England players looking to break into the World Cup squad, but the Three Lions should still have just enough to prevail even with some of their regulars absent.
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