England: Will Uruguay be Thomas Tuchel's toughest test so far?

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 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. But it was still a sobering, alarming evening as Senegal outclassed England."

While that result and performance may have been a blip, England needed to face higher-ranked opponents to test them before heading to the World Cup - and they should get that against Uruguay and then Japan, who are 19th in the world.

Many England fans - and particular those who support a club in West Yorkshire - will be familiar with the man in charge of Uruguay.

Marcelo Bielsa managed Leeds United for four years from 2018, taking them back to the Premier League in 2020.

He became Uruguay boss in 2023 and guided them to impressive wins against Brazil and Argentina on the way to qualifying for this summer's World Cup.

Not everything has gone swimmingly for him, however, with Uruguay suffering their heaviest defeat in more than a decade when they lost 5-1 to the United States last November.

That result prompted Bielsa to call a press conference during which he said he felt "ashamed" by the result but vowed to continue in the role for the 2026 World Cup.

Despite that loss, Bielsa is considered to be one of the most tactically astute managers in the world.

Tuchel and Bielsa faced each other in the Premier League twice. The first game in March 2021 ended in a goalless draw while Tuchel's Chelsea beat Bielsa's Leeds 3-2 in December that year.

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