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84 min: Palmer wins another corner. Nothing comes of it. But he’s made a difference since coming on, even if the bar for him to clear wasn’t set too high.
83 min: The goal stands!
82 min: Uruguay aren’t happy, though. As the ball came in, Wharton brazenly body-checked Gimenez on the penalty spot. But did that have anything to do with the goal, which was happening elsewhere? VAR will decide.
GOAL! England 1-0 Uruguay (White 81)
Palmer swings the corner into the six-yard box. Uruguay don’t deal with it. Barnes flicks it on. The ball squirts through to the back post, where White can’t miss from a yard out! They’re not booing now.
80 min: Palmer skins Ugarte down the right with absurd ease, and slips Bowen into space. Bowen wins a corner, from which …
78 min: Valverde slips a pass down the inside-left channel for Pellistri, who would be clear in the box if he spins. But he doesn’t.
77 min: Uruguay enjoy a rare period of prolonged possession in England territory. They pass and probe, but the hosts hold their shape well enough.
75 min: The Wembley buzz dies down. Yep, it’s been one of those nights. Seats already emptying.
73 min: That miss has at least got Wembley buzzing. A little bit, anyway. It’s been one of those nights. “Quite impressed by James Garner on debut and Rashford’s scintillating run but a match against Uruguay lacks bite without Suarez.” Somebody was always going to go there, so why not Colum Fordham?
71 min: Palmer is crudely clattered by Ugarte near the right-hand corner flag. Ugarte is booked. Palmer gets up and takes the free kick himself. He curls it deliciously to the far post, where Calvert-Lewin is free, five yards out. Calvert-Lewin has to score, but wafts his header wide left. The flag goes up for offside … but he wasn’t. VAR would have intervened. No blushes saved there.
70 min: Nothing comes of the free kick. Incidentally, White was booed upon his introduction, as per the tedious narrative.
69 min: Wharton is skittled by De Arrascaeta out on the England left. Before the free kick can be swung into the box, England make a quadruple change. Barnes, Mainoo, Hall and White come on for Garner, Rashford, Spence and Tomori.
67 min: De Arrascaeta takes the free kick himself, and lumps it hopelessly over the bar. Uruguay are yet to get an effort on target. England haven’t been much better, to be fair.
66 min: De Arrascaeta drops a shoulder to make some space, 25 yards out from the England goal. But he can’t prepare to shoot, as he’d like, because he’s clipped by Garner. A free kick in a central, and dangerous, position.
64 min: Uruguay make a double change. Vinas and the former Manchester United winger Pellistri come on for Maximilano Araujo and Aguirre.
63 min: Rashford advances into a little pocket of space, centrally, 25 yards out. But he’s allowed no closer, and upon shooting the ball’s blocked and balloons harmlessly back to Muslera.
61 min: Uruguay are still showing next to nix in attack. A long, hopeful punt down the left. Livramento heads it back to Trafford, neatly done seeing Maximilano Araujo was tight on his shoulder. Nerveless.
60 min: Spence exchanges passes with Rashford down the inside-left channel. Spence takes a shot that deflects to Calvert-Lewin, who has a whack himself. He can’t connect properly and Muslera collects.
58 min: Foden has gone straight down the tunnel, so England are taking no chances there. Penny for Pep Guardiola’s thoughts if he’s tuned in.
57 min: Meanwhile Calvert-Lewin replaces Solanke. “Watching my Uruguay against England from Southern Spain,” begins Pablo Miguez. “From a Uruguayan point of view, so far … The good: the defence. The bad: the attacking play. The ugly: the shirt colour. That’s not a proper Celeste.”
56 min: Foden is taken off, presumably a precautionary measure, as he seems to be moving around OK despite that heavy Araujo challenge. Palmer replaces him.
54 min: Foden, fuelled by fume, dances his way down the middle. It’d be a lovely story were he to pile one in from the edge of the box, but he scuffs the shot instead.
53 min: … and thankfully so has Foden, who after some running checks, is good to continue.
51 min: Thomas Tuchel is annoyed enough by Araujo’s tackle to get up in Marcelo Bielsa’s grille. It was a bad challenge. Studs on top of the foot, and maybe a little bit up the shin as well. You’ve seen players sent off for less, but neither referee nor VAR is going to escalate it. Araujo gets away with one there.
50 min: Ronald Araujo extends a leg to win the ball in a 50-50 with Foden. He catches a lot of his opponent’s ankle, though. Thomas Tuchel is fuming. Foden is rolling around in pain. That’s not a good tackle at all. I wonder whether VAR will take a look at this, because the referee isn’t going to take any action.
48 min: England have stepped it up a bit, with Maguire probing down the left, Bowen down the right, Wharton down the middle. The latter looks to have been brought down on the edge of the D, but the referee waves play on.
46 min: Solanke pressures Muslera again (30 min) and this time blocks the keeper’s clearance. Throw for Uruguay. Solanke getting closer to a reward for his hard work.
Uruguay get the second half started. England have replaced Henderson with Wharton, so the armband is passed to Maguire. “Marcus Rashford may be the fourth best forward in Barcelona but at least he’ll be on the plane,” writes Tony Ratcliffe. “Real Madrid’s first choice right back can’t even get into the squad.”
Half-time postbag. “Marcus Rashford is having an odd season. He’s essentially competing with Ferran Torres to be the fourth best forward in Barcelona. Which sounds like a dig, but when the front three are Lewandowski, Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, that’s not a bad situation to be in at all. So, on the one hand it’s not odd that he’s competing in the England Understudies match, but on the other the fourth best attacker in Barcelona should walk into any national team” – Kári Tulinius
“In the Under-21s Euros, plucky England has just secured a point with a 90th minute penalty against the might of Andorra. IT’S COMING HOME!” – Gary Naylor
“This week I was accused, I think without due cause, of looking like Lee Dixon. Upsetting though this was, I did make we wonder what it does to a man to be stuck in close quarters with Sam Matterface for hours at a time” – Tom Hopkins
“After the introduction of the highly aesthetic World Cup Trionda ball yesterday, was tonight’s match ball designed by someone who only had access to a ZX Spectrum?” – Andy Gordon
HALF TIME: England 0-0 Uruguay
Don’t knock it, this is how the 1966 World Cup finals started for England.
45 min +7: Canobbio slips Varela into space down the right. Varela hooks into the England box. Trafford punches clear.
45 min +6: Canobbio has had Uruguay’s two best chances. Both speculative efforts from long range, both utterly butchered.
45 min +5: Another chance for Canobbio to make good ground down the middle of the park. He reaches the edge of the D, opens his body, but in looking for the top-left corner of the goal sends his shot deep into the stand.
45 min +3: Can something that never really got going peter out? If so, there’s this.
45 min +1: The first of seven additional first-half minutes passes by.
45 min: Rashford is clipped by Canobbio out on the left. Foden curls the free kick towards Henderson on the right, but Gimenez eyebrows clear just in time. Neither keeper has had any serious work to do.
44 min: Livramento sashays in from the right flank, and for a second things open up ahead of him. But they soon close down again, with nobody in red offering an option.
42 min: The match reverts to type, as Garner chips a free kick down the middle of the park, and Ronald Araujo heads clear. As a result of the limp fare, Wembley isn’t exactly a cauldron right now. A bain-marie, maybe.
40 min: … so having said that, of course the match springs into life at last. Valverde has a shot blocked on the edge of the England box. England counter through Rashford, who tears down the left flank spectacularly, creaming an inviting cross through the Uruguay box. Solanke is the only England player who has been able to stay with Rashford, and even he can’t quite make it to the ball. Much better from England, though.
39 min: Spence gives the ball away with a clunker of a pass upfield. De Arrascaeta picks up possession and passes it into the stand. That just about sums up this match so far.
38 min: Bowen comes on to replace Madueke.
37 min: Ah no, Madueke isn’t able to continue. He goes down again, then wanders off. Not sure whether that’s a concussion issue, or he’s hurt his jaw.
35 min: Thankfully Madueke, who landed awkwardly, is fine to continue after the physio runs through his checks. “Eschewing my usual gutter humour for once, please allow me to be the 1,057th person to hope out loud that Canobbio’s nickname is ‘Obi Wan’.” Mac Millings with that particular comedic tour de Force.
33 min: Madueke and Aguirre fall over in an accidental tangle. Madueke stays down. On ITV, Lee Dixon resists the temptation to encourage the ref to hoof him off the pitch like an old sock. So things can improve. We can learn.
31 min: Solanke is putting himself about, and now he chases a speculative ball down the inside-right channel. He catches Ronald Araujo in his attempt to swivel a shot goalwards. Free kick.
30 min: Solanke nearly closes down Muslera. Not quite. Uruguay clear.
