World Cup snub for Foden sealed but Palmer could steal England starting XI spot from Arsenal star | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel has billed this international break as the “last opportunity for players to compete for their ticket” ahead of the World Cup, but most failed to grasp this chance against Uruguay.

Friday night’s pre-tournament friendly, which was hampered by several injury stoppages and inevitable wholesale substitutions, never really got going and was as tedious as we feared, except for a rather frantic final few minutes. Still, for better or worse, Tuchel‘s tinkering added an intriguing narrative to the game.

The unique move to split England‘s 35-man squad into two groups enabled Tuchel to rest some of his stalwarts for Uruguay, while those on the periphery were given a chance to force their way into contention.

Tuchel’s management of this international break has been scrutinised in this regard, but he does deserve credit for keeping his players on their toes with his bullish decision-making and keeping the road to the starting XI wide open.

Speaking pre-match, Tuchel encouraged his ‘B’ team to “buy into” his ideas with great “effort and intensity”, but this was sorely lacking against Uruguay as the absence of cohesion in this makeshift side was clear.

This did not stop a couple of players from making a strong impression; James Garner looked really assured in midfield and it could be telling that he was chosen to start ahead of Kobbie Mainoo, with his versatility another plus as he looks to earn a spot as a backup to almost-certain World Cup starters Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson.

Garner was comfortably the standout starter from England’s perspective, with the performances of their remaining starters being either decent, meh or downright ineffective.

Marcus Rashford is perhaps the most likely of tonight’s starting front four to start at the World Cup, and he did get fans off their feet with his fleeting moments of brilliance, but as is often the case when he plays for England, you were left wanting more as he did not produce what he’s capable of.

Noni Madueke and Dominic Solanke were also lively, without delivering a knockout punch, and the best they can hope for at the World Cup is a spot as a backup to more established names, though Tino Livramento and Harry Maguire have a far greater chance of starting.

Yet each of these had much more of an impact than Phil Foden, who is even facing an incredibly uphill battle to make it into England’s World Cup squad, never mind to start as Tuchel’s No.10.

Foden, who has not even been starting for Man City lately, is among those fortunate to make it into this latest England squad and is a beneficiary of Tuchel’s inclusion of 35 players, but this was another exposing evening for a player who often looks lost when featuring for his country.

The Man City star cannot be accused of shirking responsibility as he was always eager to get on the ball, but he often popped up in the wrong positions and was even shooed away by Harry Maguire when dropping too deep.

Tuchel spoke of his admiration for Foden before the match, but he will not be blind to the attacking midfielder’s performance, which makes his eventual World Cup snub for Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham and/or Morgan Rogers even more inevitable.

And the main winners of this evening were the eleven England players rested by Tuchel, but Bukayo Saka is perhaps the only one of those sidelined to be made to sweat by the events on the pitch.

As mentioned, Madueke made a decent impact before being forced off with an injury, while Chelsea star Palmer joined Garner as the only other England player to really take his chance this evening.

The 2025/26 campaign has been infuriating for Palmer as he’s been derailed by injuries, but there is no disputing his quality and there were signs of him returning to his best when he came on for the final 35 minutes.

His corner for Ben White’s goal was not his best effort, and it was a tad fortunate to fall to the defender to tap home at the back post, but he otherwise displayed his class with virtually every touch and could take Saka’s place in the starting XI if this cameo is a sign of things to come for the run-in and the Arsenal star continues to struggle.

And Palmer’s influence helped England to just about edge a tight game, though they were made to settle for a draw as White was harshly penalised for a challenge inside the penalty area on Federico Vinas in stoppage time, with the spot-kick clinically converted by Federico Valverde.

A calamitous performance from German official Sven Jablonski took over the final moments of the match, with the referee and VAR failing to send off Manuel Ugarte, despite the Man Utd outcast receiving a second yellow card, the cherry on the cake after Ronald Araujo also should have been dismissed for an atrocious challenge on Foden.

This comedy of errors angered Tuchel, but he should be pleased by what he can take from this evening as his Status Quo, with the additions of Palmer and Garner, remaining intact.