Newcastle United had three of their six England players in action last night as the Three Lions played out a 1-1 draw with Uruguay in a very odd match.
If we thought the standard of refereeing was bad in England, we were treated to a whole new level last night as the referee brandished two yellow cards to Manchester United’s Manuel Ugarte, but didn’t send him off. It was later said that Ugarte’s second yellow was rescinded. Bizarre.
On top of that, there was a horrific challenge on Phil Foden that should have produced a straight red card, but the German referee just gave a free kick.
The stoppage time penalty awarded to Uruguay was also pretty soft, but we can see why it was given.
Harvey Barnes was almost the one to make the big impact after he flicked on a Cole Palmer corner, which looked to be heading for the bottom corner before Arsenal’s Ben White tapped the ball over the line to make sure. Watch it below.
Ben White’s first goal for the #ThreeLions! 🙌pic.twitter.com/CbYyEx8Xcl
— England (@England) March 27, 2026
The Chronicle also gave Barnes a 7/10 but if Ben White hadn’t nicked that goal, he may have got a higher rating.
White’s name was greeted by boos when the goal was announced after he’d turned his back on England under Gareth Southgate. You wouldn’t have got that if he’d just let Barnes’ shot roll in.
It remains to be seen now whether Barnes did enough in that brief cameo to keep his place after being a last-minute addition to the squad.
As for Newcastle’s stars, Tino Livramento started the game and acquitted himself well throughout, lasting the whole game. The Chronicle gave him a rating of 8/10, praising him for a ‘crisp challenge’ on Maximiliano Araujo in the first half after it looked like the Uruguayan had him beat.
Lewis Hall was given 21 minutes to prove his worth, with many pundits backing the 21-year-old to be England’s first-choice left-back at the World Cup.
Hall certainly didn’t harm his chances with a decent display, picking up a 7/10 rating from The Chronicle. Most of Hall’s work was in defence, with him not getting much opportunity to show off his attacking flair.