Will Uruguay be tough test Tuchel's England need?

England breezed through qualifying for the World Cup with a 100% record. But while those impressive results mean confidence is high that Thomas Tuchel's squad can prosper this summer, there is a nagging concern about how much they have been tested so far. Friday's friendly at Wembley against Uruguay, who are ranked 15th in the world, could be the team's toughest test of the Tuchel era - and the best indicator of England's level under the German.

England won all eight of their qualifying games, scoring 22 goals and conceding none to finish comfortably clear at the top of Group K. However, their group opponents were Albania, Andorra, Latvia and Serbia - four sides ranked outside the top 20 in the world. Indeed their toughest test in terms of ranking last year was a friendly against Senegal, who were 19th in the world at the time.

England lost 3-1. It may have been a non-competitive match, but the Three Lions' performance in that game was concerning. "No discernible plan.

No identity. No improvement - arguably even a regression - since Sir Gareth Southgate stepped down after defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin," wrote BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty after the game. "[Tuchel] may offer up mitigating circumstances as he made 10 changes from the World Cup qualifying win against Andorra, plus this was a friendly at the end of a long season.