International Reds: Maguire's England return

It was a special night for Harry Maguire, who made his first appearance for England since September 2024, in their 1-1 draw with Uruguay at Wembley.

"It's a great feeling to play at this beautiful stadium,” he told ITV before kick-off. “It is always special, whether that's for club or country, but it is a long time since I have done it so it's a great feeling to be back. Every time you step onto the pitch for your country, it is a chance to impress.”

The centre-back also praised our head coach Michael Carrick’s influence on his return to the international fold, adding: "The form of the team and myself has improved since we changed formation. We've picked up many more points. So it's a big credit to him and a big credit to myself to make sure I'm in this squad."

Harry’s defensive colleague Ben White scored on his first England outing for four years in the 81st minute, before the Arsenal man then conceded a penalty following a VAR check, which Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde converted sublimely in the 94th minute to secure a draw.

Maguire came close to marking his 65th cap with an eighth England goal early on, with a header which drifted over the crossbar from a corner by former Red James Garner, who made his senior international debut.

One of only three players to complete 90 minutes for the Three Lions on the night, Harry also took over the captain’s armband in the second half following Jordan Henderson’s withdrawal and made a brave last-ditch block as Uruguay pushed late on.

Kobbie Mainoo entered the fray in the 69th minute in place of Garner and, like Maguire, made his first international outing since a 2-0 UEFA Nations League victory over Republic of Ireland some 566 days ago.

Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford - on loan at Barcelona from United - played 69 minutes from the start and linked up well with Tottenham’s Djed Spence down the left, while he was in direct opposition with a former United team-mate in Uruguay right-back Guillermo Varela.

Another ex-United man Facundo Pellistri - whose last appearance for the Reds also came at Wembley in the 2024 Community Shield - was introduced as a second-half sub for Uruguay, who are coached by former Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa.

Manuel Ugarte started for the South Americans - who, like England, have qualified for this summer’s World Cup - and was the subject of one of the game’s main talking points.

Our no.25 was booked for a late challenge on Cole Palmer in the second half and appeared to receive a second yellow card in the aftermath of White’s goal. But amid some confusion, it did not result in him being sent off, before the midfielder was substituted on 88 minutes. It was later reported that the first yellow card was actually meant for team-mate Jose Maria Gimenez and the second was rescinded by German referee Sven Jablonski.

Elsewhere, Noussair Mazraoui lined up at left-back in Morocco’s friendly against Ecuador - their first game since the controversial Africa Cup of Nations final.

Our versatile no.3 was replaced in the 82nd minute by Anass Salah-Eddine in the Spanish capital Madrid, where it finished 1-1 after John Yeboah’s 48th-minute strike for Ecuador was cancelled out by Neil El Aynaoui’s 82nd-minute header.

Meanwhile, Diego Leon wasn’t involved in Paraguay’s 1-0 friendly win over Greece in Piraeus, in which Brighton’s Diego Gomez netted the decisive goal.