Early England v Uruguay team news as forgotten man can revive international career following squad withdrawal

Eberechi Eze's withdrawal from the England squad has forced Thomas Tuchel to call up a replacement to his expanded 35-man squad for the March international break.

England will face Uruguay and Japan in back-to-back games at Wembley on Friday, March 27 and Monday, March 31.

Arsenal star Eze had been named in the original squad, but was unable to play a part in Sunday's League Cup final defeat to Manchester City thanks to a calf injury.

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With Tuchel having already selected a larger squad than usual in a bid to have a final look at everyone ahead of the World Cup in June, the England boss has had to cast his net out even further to find a replacement for Eze.

Enter Harvey Barnes, who has just one England cap to his name, earned back in October 2020 in a friendly against Wales following a breakout season at Leicester City.

Barnes has resisted efforts from Scotland to call him up to represent them, which he would be eligible to do thanks to having Scottish grandparents.

The Newcastle winger has registered 14 goals and four assists in 50 appearances in all competitions this season, and was particularly prolific in Newcastle's run to the Champions League round of 16.

Barnes scored the opener in a 1-1 draw against Barcelona in the first leg of that stage of the competition, and claimed an assist in a 7-2 pummelling at Camp Nou.

He won't be short of familiar faces in the England squad with five of his clubmates already called up: Aaron Ramsdale, Dan Burn, Tino Livramento, Lewis Hall, and Anthony Gordon.

Tuchel is set to split his England camp into two, with a core group of players joined by rotating cast. The latter are expected to feature prominently in the friendly fixtures to give Tuchel a more holistic look at his squad.

The players who have been most involved for their club and country this season getting a few days off ahead of the Uruguay game and then joining the squad in time to face Japan.

Tuchel will need to trim down his squad to a final 26-man side (including three goalkeepers) for the World Cup, which is set to kick off in Canada, Mexico and the United States on June 11.

England will play one final friendly against Costa Rica on June 10 before starting their group stage campaign against Croatia seven days later. Ghana and Panama make up the rest of Group L.