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White is hero and villain on England return, Germany’s Wirtz destroys Swiss
Ben White scored on his recall to the England side and then gave away a penalty in stoppage time as England drew 1-1 with Uruguay on a night of pre-World Cup friendlies, while Florian Wirtz scored two and made two more as Germany twice came from behind to beat Switzerland 4-3.
In other games on Friday, the Netherlands overcame Norway 2-1 in Amsterdam, while Mikel Oyarzabal scored two impressive goals in Spain’s 3-0 win over Serbia.
White was a controversial selection by England coach Thomas Tuchel, four years after walking out on his teammates in the middle of the last World Cup.
The Arsenal defender replaced Fikayo Tomori with 21 minutes left in a dull match on Friday, and his appearance was greeted with some boos from the 80,000 fans present at Wembley.
“He needs to take it on the chin,” Tuchel said. “We will always protect him, and hopefully we can put it behind [us] because he is ready to write some new chapters and we are ready to give him the chance, so hopefully everyone can move on and accept it.”
White was in the right place at the right time 10 minutes from time to give England the lead, after Cole Palmer’s corner was flicked on and White poked the ball in at the far post for what will surely be one of the easiest goals of his career.
Uruguay did not have a shot on goal, and that looked like the winner, only for White to clip Federico Vinas in the box as the clock ticked past 90 minutes.
The referee pointed to the spot after a video review, and Federico Valverde converted for Uruguay to leave the scores level.
It was the first goal that England had conceded in seven games, and the decision left the coach and players furious, with Tuchel declaring it “not a penalty”.
Brilliant Wirtz downs Switzerland
In Basel, Germany won for the sixth time in a row, thanks largely to the brilliance of Liverpool’s Wirtz.
Germany looked shaky at the back and went behind in the 17th minute when Dan Ndoye cut in from the left and crashed a shot past Oliver Baumann from a tight angle.
Germany levelled nine minutes later when Jonathan Tah headed home Wirtz’s cross from the left, but Breel Embolo put Switzerland ahead again in the 41st minute with a diving header after Baumann hesitated to leave his line.
Once again, Wirtz brought Germany back into the game when, on the stroke of halftime, his flighted pass carved open the Swiss defence and allowed Serge Gnabry to lift the ball over goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
Wirtz then gave Germany a 3-2 lead 11 minutes into the second half with the best goal of the night, his stunning right-foot shot from full 30 metres (33 yards) sailing over Kobel into the top corner of the net.
Joel Monteiro equalised for the home side 10 minutes from time with a rifled shot that gave Baumann no chance, but Wirtz made it 4-3 with another superb shot from the 18-yard line six minutes from the end.
The result ended Switzerland’s 10-match unbeaten run.
Oyarzabal stars for Spain, Netherlands beat Norway
In Villarreal, Oyarzabal was the star man for Spain in its hastily arranged game against Serbia.
The match was set up at short notice after Spain’s proposed game with Argentina in Doha fell through due to war in the Middle East, and the home side showed just why they are one of the favourites to win a second World Cup title this June and July.
Oyarzabal got his first goal with 16 minutes gone, hammering home after Alex Baena’s smart dummy from Fermin Lopez’s pass gave him time and space on the edge of the Serbian box.
His second, a minute before halftime, was an unstoppable left-foot shot from almost 25 metres (27 yards) out.
The goals take his international tally to 26 in 53 internationals and extend his superb scoring streak. The Real Sociedad striker has scored 11 times in his last 10 games for Spain.
Oyarzabal was withdrawn after 63 minutes as Spain gave a debut to Osasuna winger Victor Munoz, but there was no letup for the Serbs. Munoz capped a happy night with a goal nine minutes later, taking a lovely back-heeled pass from Ferran Torres and stroking the ball home to make it 3-0.
In Amsterdam, Norway rested their record scorer, Erling Haaland, but took the lead after 25 minutes thanks to a curling shot from Andreas Schjelderup.
Virgil van Dijk levelled 10 minutes later when he powered home a header from a corner, and Tijjani Reijnders gave the home side the win when he crashed home from close range five minutes into the second half.
The win extended The Netherlands’ unbeaten run to nine games. The last time Ronald Koeman’s men were beaten was by Spain in a Nations League game a year ago.
In other matches, Algeria, who are pitted against Austria, Jordan and reigning world champions Argentina at the World Cup, beat Guatemala 7-0 in Genoa, and Egypt beat Saudi Arabia 4-0.
Morocco, who drew 1-1 with Ecuador, went behind early in the second half to a goal from John Yeboah, but Neil El Aynaoui’s goal two minutes from time ensured a share of the spoils.
