Thomas Tuchel praises struggling £42m Man Utd star after England draw with Uruguay | Football

Thomas Tuchel singled out Manchester United misfit Manuel Ugarte for praise following England’s 1-1 draw against Uruguay.

The Three Lions boss watched a makeshift side labour at Wembley with several fringe players failing to accept an opportunity to play their way into the manager’s World Cup plans.

the squad to be rejigged as more familiar faces return for Tuesday’s friendly against Japan.

Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were among the established 11-strong contingent watching from the stands ahead of joining a group that will be cut down after this match.

Tuchel trialled a variety of different players, with James Garner and James Trafford making their debuts on night that started brightly, only to swiftly fizzle out.

Harry Maguire, winning his first cap in 18 months, was commanding and confident, while Dominic Solanke saw a shot blocked before seeing another easily gathered.

But the sting got taken out of proceedings after Joaquin Piquerez suffered an early injury in a tangle with Noni Madueke, leading England fans to amuse themselves by aiming paper planes at the pitch.

England comfortably dealt with Uruguay but offered little by way of threat but Tuchel declared himself satisfied by what he saw given the quality of the opposition.

The former Chelsea boss appeared particularly taken by Uruguay’s central midfield pairing of Fede Valverde and United’s Ugarte who has struggled to assert himself at Old Trafford following a £42m move from PSG 18 months ago.

‘I learned a lot, because it was a tough opponent and you just see it in the details,’ he said. ‘You learn a lot in the details, also the behaviour, and you see the level.

‘If you play against (Manuel) Ugarte, if you play against (Federico) Valverde in midfield, you see the level.

‘You play against the winners and these defensive players, it’s a high level and then you instantly see, so we needed this kind of test.’

Phil Fodenm meanwhile, limped off in the second half after being caught by a reckless Ronald Araujo tackle and Madueke was seen leaving the stadium in a knee brace having been hurt in the first half.

Tuchel was angered by both challenges and felt referee Sven Jablonski had a ‘bad day at the office’, including awarding Uruguay’s late penalty having been sent to the monitor to check a White challenge on Federico Vinas.

‘I think it’s a very soft penalty,’ the England boss said. ‘Of course there is contact, but it’s so obvious what the striker is trying to do.

‘Maybe Ben is also a bit greedy in this moment, but to overturn a decision when the referee clearly, clearly made the signal with both hands that he saw it and it was not enough for him.

‘Then to overturn it I was surprised VAR is in place because I thought it’s not working, because the tackle on Phil Foden was not even checked, tackle against Noni not even checked.

‘And then suddenly, this one was checked. OK, like I said, I don’t think it’s enough, but OK, it is what it is.

‘I heard that our goal was a tough block before our goal. I haven’t seen it, so, yeah, overall, that’s what it is.’

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