White booed as England is frustrated by Uruguay
England's Ben White marked his international return in bizarre fashion when he scored and was booed by his team's own fans as Thomas Tuchel's side was held to a 1-1 draw by Uruguay in a friendly.
Federico Valverde's stoppage-time penalty meant England failed to win for only the second time in Tuchel's 11 matches in charge and conceded for the first time since losing to Senegal in a friendly last June.
A much-changed England appeared to be on course for a non-descript win when White, one of eight substitutions, tapped in at the back post in the 81st minute.
The Arsenal defender was making his first appearance for England since leaving the FIFA World Cup camp in 2022 and going into self-imposed international exile and the Wembley fans were not in the mood to welcome him back with cheers.
He was booed when he came on in the 69th minute and even more loudly when he was announced as the scorer of his first senior international goal.
White then turned villain as he was adjudged to have fouled Federico Vinas in the area after a video assistant referee (VAR) check.
Valverde stepped up to beat James Trafford from the spot in the 94th minute and the visitors almost won it with a flurry of chances in a frantic finale.
"There were some boos and a mixed reception [for White] and of course I'm disappointed about that," Tuchel said.
"He deserved his place in the squad and almost got us a winner.
"I also understand it happened to other players before here. He has to take it on the chin and put it behind him because he is ready to write new chapters."
With Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham either rested or not in the squad, it was a night for some of Tuchel's fringe players to stake their claims for a seat on the plane to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Harry Maguire made his first appearance for England for 18 months while fellow defender Fikayo Tomori got his first international action since 2023.
Everton midfielder James Garner made his senior England debut while Phil Foden also got a start having struggled for minutes for Manchester City this season.
Striker Dominic Solanke also got his first England start, eight years and 133 days after his England debut as a substitute against Brazil in November 2017.
Such was the messy nature of the friendly, however, that it was hard to see what Tuchel would have learned that he did not already know.
Marcus Rashford offered some bright moments out wide while Noni Madueke showed some endeavour before going off injured.
Foden was quiet before hobbling off in the second half after a crunching tackle by Ronald Araujo that left Tuchel enraged while Solanke worked hard without furthering his cause.
Solanke was eventually replaced by Dominic Calvert-Lewin who wasted a glorious chance, heading wide from close range.
White's introduction and pantomime villain display at least provided some late interest for an underwhelmed crowd.
"A bit crazy, [White] scoring the first goal," Maguire, who has also come under fire at times from England fans, said.
"I thought he was brilliant when he came on."
