What to expect when Thomas Tuchel's swashbuckling England side take on Uruguay at Wembley

[p]The Three Lions don't have a great record against La Celeste, winning only three of the 11 fixtures between the two sides.[/p][h2]England's poor record against South American teams[/h2][p]At Wembley, two of the last four games vs [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/uruguay/xMk44orG/"]Uruguay[/a] have ended in goalless draws, one coming in a friendly in 1995, and the other way back during the 1966 World Cup.[/p][p]Against nations that they've faced at least 10 times, they only have a worse record against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brazil/I9l9aqLq/"]Brazil[/a] (P27 W4) and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/romania/IaD8jZpU/"]Romania[/a] (P12 W3).[/p][image alt="England vs Uruguay - Recent head-to-head results" id="931e6ec6-2d44-4e60-a7d1-ab82dbd8397f" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="950621a8-2cf0-440f-9842-27f7fd1ad664" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]Thomas Tuchel's squad are a different proposition to the one Roy Hodgson managed back in 2014, when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/england/j9N9ZNFA/"]England[/a] were dumped out of the tournament 2-1.[/p][p]The current squad breezed through qualifying, winning all of their games without conceding a goal, which is only the second time in history the Three Lions have managed such a feat (the other coming in 1990).[/p][h2]Kane's form a boost for Tuchel[/h2][p]Oddly enough, England has a poor recent record against South American teams.[/p][p]Aside from wins over Brazil in 2013 and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/peru/Uend67D3/"]Peru[/a] in 2014, they've drawn five and lost four of their last 11 games, and since the Peru match, they've drawn three and lost two against teams from the continent.[/p][p]With [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kane-harry/v5HSlEAa/"]Harry Kane[/a] in top goalscoring form, however, there's every chance that the hosts can start to reverse that recent record.[/p][embed guid="cc76d3b7-d1e8-4d8d-a176-77abe4366776" url="https://x.com/ChampionsLeague/status/2034379110009462997" social-type="twitter" /][p]A stunning recent goal from the England marksman in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bayern-munich/nVp0wiqd/"]Bayern[/a] colours has rightly earned the acclaim it deserved, and the 32-year-old has also been in sensational form under Tuchel's guidance, scoring nine goals in the first nine games of the German's era.[/p][p]His domestic form - 48 goals and five assists for Bayern in all competitions during the 2025/26 campaign - means he has the most goal contributions in the current season for English players playing in Europe’s top five leagues.[/p][h2]35 players to pick from[/h2][p]Supporters looking for omens will be enthused by the fact that the Three Lions have also won their first match in 11 of the last 13 calendar years (L2), though one of those defeats came at Wembley against Brazil, suggesting that the South American 'hoodoo' remains. [/p][p]The most interesting aspect of this particular international break is the 35-man squad Tuchel has picked.[/p][embed guid="55d2d8c2-ea0d-44e4-9133-dba958fb453a" url="https://x.com/England/status/2037280934567817248" social-type="twitter" /][p]Injuries to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/eze-eberechi/Stf4BYFn/"]Eberechi Eze[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/quansah-jarell/KtIpCeFE/"]Jarell Quansah[/a] have given both [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/barnes-harvey/Wjj9WTTi/"]Harvey Barnes[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/white-ben/pvGdJANj/"]Ben White[/a] a chance to impress. However, it isn't clear at this point if Tuchel will start with his tried and tested players or look to utilise a more experimental starting XI. [/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alexander-arnold-trent/CEVJy6Bc/"]Trent Alexander-Arnold[/a]'s absence kept the headline writers busy, but here too, one can only speculate as to whether it's because the manager knows the quality the Real Madrid ace has, and so can allow him some important rest, or Tuchel wants to run the rule over other options before he decides on his final squad to go to the USA.[/p][h2]Bielsa's Wembley return[/h2][p]Marcelo Bielsa returns to Wembley for the first time in 26 years and will be hoping to ensure Uruguay avoid back-to-back defeats for the first time since November 2021, when Oscar Tabarez's side lost 5-1 to the USA.[/p][p]This will be the third game that El Loco will have managed against England, and he's yet to coach a team to even score a goal against the Three Lions, having seen his [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/f9OppQjp/"]Argentina[/a] side draw 0-0 at Wembley in February 2000, and then lose 1-0 at the 2002 World Cup. [/p][embed guid="6891a398-7959-4762-9629-d8135eca3e90" url="https://x.com/henrywinter/status/2037118542680588536" social-type="twitter" /][p]In [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/valverde-federico/nscfER6B/"]Fede Valverde[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nunez-darwin/Ygo6EZPh/"]Darwin Nunez[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/de-arrascaeta-giorgian/foizdExt/"]Giorgian de Arrascaeta[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/araujo-ronald/M3sbJix9/"]Ronald Araujo[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ugarte-manuel/IksYqIr8/"]Manuel Ugarte[/a] and others, Uruguay certainly have a squad that can pose England problems.[/p][p]Indeed, if La Celeste employs their usual combativeness in this game, it might well come as a shock to the hosts.[/p][h2]A game in which to ascertain fitness and form[/h2][p]Ultimately, this game is an exercise in seeing where both teams are at in terms of fitness and form, and to give both managers the best insight into which formations work and which players can be relied upon to deliver the goods when it matters.[/p][p]To that end, whatever the result, as long as the standard of performance is acceptable, that will give Tuchel and Bielsa the information that they need to make informed decisions over the coming months, injuries and withdrawals notwithstanding.[/p][image alt="Jason Pettigrove" id="7fb22f6f-ca55-4d42-b234-8e9673c2c692" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="a321c7f1-f9b1-4d78-b9b9-d883d2acb25e" original-width="1200" original-height="380" /]