Phil Foden's in the last-chance saloon! Winners & losers as Cole Palmer emerges victorious in battle of the No.10s & Harry Maguire proves his worth to tinkering Thomas Tuchel in England's ugly Uruguay draw

Foden's dramatically declining form for City meant many people were surprised to see him keep his place in Tuchel's squad and the fact that he was starting here was not necessarily a positive sign as this was clearly the second XI. There was added pressure on him as he was given the No. 10 role and he did not cope with it well.

He offered very little in the first half, only growing into the game in the second, with his best moment, a trademark shuffle inside on to his left foot, coming between being crunched by Ronald Araujo and being removed for Palmer. 

And Tuchel admitted he had expected more from him, certainly in an attacking sense. He said: "In moments I thought he could be a bit more adventurous, taking a risk like a No. 10, trying some stuff."

Be it setting up Ollie Watkins' winner against Netherlands in the Euro 2024 semi-final or scoring himself in the final against Spain, Cole Palmer has a stellar reputation for making things happen when he comes off the bench for England. And even though the stakes were much lower here, he still made an impact, giving his team the spark and guile they were previously lacking. 

He grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, encroached on the Uruguay area and created chances. And it should be enough to convince Tuchel he deserves a place in the squad at Foden’s expense.

You had to feel sorry for Ben White. He has been the subject of unflattering attention ever since he was called back into the squad last week and it felt inevitable that he would cause a stir in some form or other when he came on. Even so, he outdid himself, being roundly booed when he was brought on, finding the breakthrough goal but being booed again and then committing a high foot on Federico Vinas which was penalised by the referee and led to Federico Valverde levelling from the penalty spot.

White became enemy No. 1 for many England fans the moment he left the squad during the 2022 World Cup, with resentment growing when it emerged he had told Gareth Southgate after the tournament that he was not available for selection. Tuchel had said on Thursday "everyone deserves a second chance" but many fans did not listen and let their feelings be known when he came on in the second half.

Tuchel urged supporters to "move on" and encouraged White to "take it on the chin". But his highly eventful cameo cannot have helped his chances of making it into the 26-man squad, especially with Reece James likely to recover from injury before June.

Maguire may have been absent from the England scene for 18 months but you wouldn't have known it when he took the ball within the first few minutes and galloped upfield with purpose. 

Maguire sprayed passes into attack and also provided his usual threat from set pieces. It was as if he had never been away and this performance demonstrated that he has the tools to play for Tuchel, despite the concerns about his lack of pace to play in the high line the German usually favours.

The defender has fought admirably for his United future and he is now in the process of reclaiming his place in the England squad and perhaps even the starting line-up when the World Cup starts.

The England coach said last November, after qualifying for the World Cup, that the time for experiments was over. And yet here he was, less than three months out from the tournament, picking players way down the pecking order who have little to no hope of playing there.

Dominic Solanke had spent seven years away from the England team until being called up by Lee Carsley in 2024 and had not previously been considered by Tuchel and he was starting up front. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who was last seen in an England shirt in 2021, replaced him. The coach admitted that he hardly ever watches Fikayo Tomori play. So why, in that case, is he considering taking him to a World Cup?

Tuchel insisted he "learned a lot" from the game but this felt like an opportunity wasted to get a feel for the team he is actually going to pick in North America and to build some confidence.

The Everton midfielder made a real impression in his 69 minutes on the pitch with a bright display, making it easy to forget he was making his international debut. He created the most chances in the match, had the most accurate crosses and made the most tackles, making four recoveries and winning six ground duels. 

He also packed a punch with his set-piece delivery. Tuchel was very pleased with what he saw, dubbing Garner "our mini Valverde" and on this evidence he has an outside chance of sneaking onto the plane to the United States.

Tuchel was not impressed with referee Sven Jablonski and the Video Assistant Referees, questioning three big decisions: giving the last-gasp penalty against White, not sending Araujo off for his reckless tackle on Foden and not reviewing Rodrigo Aguirre's foul on Noni Madueke. 

But the most farcical decision was keeping Manuel Ugarte on the pitch after the Manchester United midfielder appeared to have been shown two yellow cards, the first for fouling Palmer and then showing dissent after White had scored. Maguire said he had been informed that his Red Devils' team-mate had in fact only been shown one yellow card, only adding to the confusion. 

"I didn't think it was a good performance at all," Tuchel said of his German compatriot Jablonski. "There were debates, a player got two yellows in a match but not sent off. A bad day at the office." Ian Wright, analysing the game for ITV, had even harsher words: "They are making it up as they go along, like we didn't see what we saw."