West Ham United star Jarrod Bowen got perhaps more minutes than Thomas Tuchel would have expected during England’s 1-1 friendly draw with Uruguay on Friday night.
Bowen was initially on the bench at Wembley but came on in the 38th minute when Arsenal’s Noni Madueke was forced off with an injury.
The West Ham United star has been a fixture of Tuchel’s England squads but has rarely played much of a consistent role on the pitch.
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West Ham star Jarrod Bowen registered an assist in England's 5-0 win over Latvia
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Indeed, Bowen has sometimes been overlooked by Tuchel for England, and the only reason he played for so long on Friday was due to Madueke’s injury.
It wasn’t a brilliant performance from the Three Lions, and here’s how the national media reacted to Bowen’s display.
The Guardian handed Bowen a 6/10 rating and said: “Quiet after replacing Madueke on the right.”
The Standard, meanwhile, wrote while giving Bowen a 5/10: “Worked tirelessly on the right wing but nothing to speak of in terms of moments in the final third.”
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BBC Sport settled on a 5/10 and added: “Replaced Madueke in the first half but it was a quiet performance from the West Ham forward.”
talkSPORT were slightly more critical, giving him a 4/10.
England v Uruguay - International Friendly
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Ben White gave England a late lead at Wembley as a heavily rotated England side looked to record a win, but the Arsenal defender then gave away a penalty which was converted by Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde.
It remains to be seen if Bowen gets another chance to impress. England play Japan on Tuesday night, but Bukayo Saka is expected to return for that and he is generally seen as the starting option under Tuchel.
In Bowen’s defence, not many England players covered themselves in glory.
Tuchel opted to name a rotated side, presumably serving as an audition for many of the squad players ahead of the actual squad being named.
That does not lend itself to particularly free-flowing attacking football, and the quality of the opposition should be taken into account.
Bowen’s standing as an England player should not be judged off this game alone, it is the body of work he does at club level which is far more important.
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