England host Uruguay at Wembley in the first of two international friendlies on Friday at 7:45pm.
The Three Lions are playing two friendlies in the March international break in what is the final chance for Tuchel to see his team before having to name his World Cup squad. The deadline for that is at the end of May, with England not playing after this month until June.
England predicted lineup vs Uruguay
England (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Livramento, Stones, Maguire, Hall; Garner, Mainoo; Palmer, Bellingham, Rashford; Bowen.
Tuchel’s men are in good form in terms of results, winning nine of their 10 games in 2025. The only failure was a 3-1 defeat to Senegal in a friendly in June.
England team news vs Uruguay
Tuchel named a 35-man squad for the March international break, trying to get a look at as many players as possible. But he has already had to make changes with Jarell Quansah and Eberechi Eze dropping out due to injury. They have been replaced by Ben White and Harvey Barnes.
The German has also confirmed that 11 of the 35 players will not be available for the game against Uruguay. Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon, Elliot Anderson, Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Dean Henderson will all link up with the England squad late with Tuchel giving them a break.
A few of those players are almost guaranteed starters at the World Cup as things stand. So we will see an experimental XI, with Tuchel giving others as much time as possible to prove themselves.
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Jordan Pickford is a shoo-in to start in goal, though he may only play 45 minutes. Harry Maguire is likely to be one of the starting centre-backs, and he could be joined by John Stones who looks to get back into the swing of things. Fikayo Tomori is another centre-back option, though. There are more choices at full-back, and we could see an all-Newcastle United pairing of Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento.
Moving further forward, there may be a chance for James Garner to impress alongside Kobbie Mainoo in midfield. Jordan Hnderson and Adam Wharton are other options for the pivot. Jude Bellingham may get a start in the No.10 role, having spent time away from the England squad due to injury.
Tuchel has a lot of attacking options, and Marcus Rashford and Cole Palmer may flank Bellingham. Jarrod Bowen could lead the line given his familiarity with the England set-up, though Dominic Solanke and Dominic Calvert-Lewin will hope for their chances.
Who should lead the line for England?
As mentioned, the striker spot is open for the visit of Uruguay. Of course, Kane will lead the line at the World Cup. But this is a chance for others to fight to be backup.
Calvert-Lewin has played his way back into England contention after a fine season with Leeds United. And he will feel he has a chance. The Leeds man has averaged 2.3 shots per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season, which is more than Bowen (1.4) and Solanke (1.2). Calvert-Lewin also leads this trio of shots on target (1.2) and goals (0.5) per 90.
Now, his accuracy isn’t as good, with Solanke coming out on top there. The Tottenham Hotspur man has hit the target with 80% of his efforts this season, compared to Bowen’s 54.76% and Calvert-Lewin’s 50%. Solanke’s conversion rate is also good at 30%, with both Bowen and Calvert-Lewin returning conversion rates lower than 20%.
Solanke has also averaged more touches in the opposition box than both Bowen and Calvert-Lewin at 4.8 per 90 — to their 4.6 each. But Bowen does win more fouls at 1.5 per 90.