Since Tuchel named his squad, Eberechi Eze and Jarell Quansah have withdrawn due to injury, replaced by Harvey Barnes and Ben White. James Garner is a first-time call-up and could make his England debut if selected.

Jordan Pickford is likely to start and there could be a Newcastle pairing at full-back, in Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall. John Stones and the recalled Harry Maguire, back in an England squad for the first time since 2024, may rekindle their defensive partnership, but the Manchester City defender is reportedly dealing with a calf issue, so Fikayo Tomori could feature.

In midfield, Tuchel has a choice between Adam Wharton, Kobbie Mainoo, Jordan Henderson or Garner, with the England manager confirming that he would take “no risks” with Jude Bellingham’s fitness following his return from a hamstring injury. At No 10, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden are expected to get the chance to impress.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Dominic Solanke are also in a straight shoot-out to start, with Noni Madueke and Marcus Rashford likely to start on the wings. There could then be changes in the second half to allow Jarrod Bowen and Barnes some game time.

England vs Uruguay will be shown live on ITV1, with a live stream available on ITV X.

Kick off for this international friendly is at 7:45pm at Wembley on Friday 27 March.

England will play just two more games before Tuchel announces his World Cup squad, with England facing Croatia in their opening game on 17 June, so the competition for places is on.

And Tuchel has confirmed that players such as Cole Palmer and Phil Foden will be given the opportunity to impress against Uruguay, in what could be an experimental line-up from the England boss.

This international break is the final one before England manager, Thomas Tuchel, will select his squad for the 2026 World Cup this summer.

Tuchel sat down at the start of the camp to discuss his thoughts on the breaks in March.

“My general thoughts are March is like a bit of an odd one, like the June one,” he said.

“It is in a period where players are heavily involved in cup semi-finals, Champions League semi-finals and at the end of the season, they fight for not being relegated or making international or European places, fighting for championships and for titles, so it is a very stressful and very demanding period of time.

“We have obviously done our homework, we have qualified, so it leaves us with two friendlies which is a good thing. The opponents are very strong opponents, given the style of play and given the ranking. It has its demands, this window.

“We decided then to divide it in basically two camps almost, so we bring players in that we haven’t seen that haven’t played so much to open up the picture and to open up the competition for plane tickets to the US.

“Then from Friday/Saturday, a group of players will come into camp – 10 or eleven players will come who get a rest before and we will then go with a new group of players and a new mix of players into the match against Japan.”

England have faced Uruguay a total of 11 times but have only won three of those previous encounters.

They most recently come up against Uruguay in 2014 and lost 2-1 in a World Cup clash.

Centre-back shapes as one of six key areas that Thomas Tuchel will be examining closely over the next week. Richard Jolly takes an in-depth look at each of them:

Harry Maguire could be one of those pushing their case for a World Cup place tonight. Once a vital figure at the back for England, the Manchester United man is no longer quite as central to the manager’s plans but his return to form could be welcome for Thomas Tuchel – as Lawrence Ostlere found out from the centre half himself earlier this week:

England dominated Group K in Uefa qualifying to book their place at next summer’s World Cup, winning all eight games without conceding a goal.

Tuchel has picked a 35-man group for this month’s friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, after which he will have just a few weeks to finalise his group to take to USA, Canada and Mexico in June.

The manager has made clear that he wants to build a squad with clearly defined roles, and two players for every position on the pitch, plus a third goalkeeper and three versatile outfield players to round out the 26. He sees his midfield comprising a No 6, a No 8 and No 10 and wants each player to know their specific role in the side.

So who will Tuchel select in his 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup?