England 1-1 Uruguay: White jeered, scores and concedes penalty in remarkable cameo

Ben White took centre stage in England’s belatedly eventful 1-1 friendly draw against Uruguay at Wembley, scoring and then conceding a penalty on his return to the international stage.

Arsenal defender White was back involved for England for the first time since the 2022 World Cup, having opted to stay away for the remainder of Gareth Southgate’s tenure.

He was therefore jeered by large sections of the Wembley crowd both on his introduction as a second-half substitute and after netting what looked like a late winner for his first Three Lions goal.

But a VAR review then saw White penalised for a challenge on Federico Vinas, allowing Federico Valverde to thrash in a 94th-minute penalty and deny England a victory they scarcely deserved.

Thomas Tuchel’s underwhelming understudies, given an opportunity as the senior stars watched on, created precious little prior to a series of late changes.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin nodded wide, then Harvey Barnes’ effort from a corner may have been goalbound before White got the final touch in the 81st minute.

34 – Ben White became the 34th Arsenal player to score for England, with this the joint-most scorers for the Three Lions from one club (now level with Manchester United and Aston Villa). Gunner. pic.twitter.com/esvn9lD1GL

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 27, 2026

That should have set up a straightforward finale, with Manuel Ugarte appearing to be shown a second yellow card for dissent as Uruguay appealed for a foul in the build-up.

Referee Sven Jablonski did not show Ugarte the red card, however, and after Marcelo Bielsa replaced the midfielder, Uruguay still had 11 men on the pitch when White’s next contribution gave Valverde his chance to slam home from the spot.

Data debrief: Three Lions suffer late setback

With seconds remaining, England were on course for a seventh consecutive clean sheet, matching a record they previously set in 2021.

Indeed, Uruguay had not even mustered a shot on target before Valverde’s spot-kick denied James Trafford a shutout on his senior debut.

The Real Madrid midfielder became the first player to score a last-minute penalty against England at Wembley since Mario Kempes for Argentina in 1974.

England were especially frustrated at seeing that decision go against them given earlier calls had also favoured Uruguay. Even before Ugarte inexplicably stayed on the pitch, Ronald Araujo escaped censure for a rash lunge on Phil Foden that left Tuchel furious.