Ben White scored after an England recall and then gave away a penalty in stoppage time as England drew 1–1 with Uruguay on the night of a pre-World Cup friendly, while Florian Wirtz scored two and scored two more as Germany twice came from behind to beat Switzerland 4–3.
In other games on Friday, the Netherlands beat Norway 2-1 in Amsterdam, while Mikel Oyarzabal scored two impressive goals in Spain’s 3-0 win over Serbia.
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White was controversially selected by England coach Thomas Tuchel, four years after he walked out on his teammates midway through the last World Cup.
The Arsenal defender replaced Fikayo Tomori with 21 minutes remaining in a dull match on Friday and the 80,000 fans at Wembley welcomed his presence.
“He needs to take it on the chin,” Tuchel said. “We’ll always protect him, and hopefully we can put it behind (us) because he’s ready to write some new chapters and we’re ready to give him the chance, so hopefully everyone can move on and accept it.”
White was in the right place 10 minutes from time to give England the lead when Cole Palmer’s corner was flicked on and White fired the ball wide of the far post for what must have been one of the easiest goals of his career.
Uruguay had no shots on goal, and were looking like the winner, only for White to clip Federico Vinas in the box as the clock ticked past 90 minutes.
The referee pointed to the spot after video review and Federico Valverde equalized the score for Uruguay.
It was the first goal conceded by England in seven matches and the decision angered the coaches and players and Tuchel declared it “not a penalty”.
Brilliant Wirtz beats Switzerland
In Basel, Germany won for the sixth time in a row, thanks largely to the brilliance of Liverpool’s Wirtz.
Germany looked to be wobbly at the back and went behind in the 17th minute when Dan Ndoye cut in from the left and fired a shot past Oliver Baumann from a tight angle.
Germany equalized nine minutes later when Jonathan Tah headed Wirtz’s cross from the left on goal, but Briel Embolo put Switzerland ahead again in the 41st minute with a diving header after Baumann hesitated to leave his line.
Once again, Wirtz brought Germany back into the game when, on the stroke of halftime, his flying pass opened up the Swiss defense and allowed Serge Gnabry to lift the ball over goalkeeper Gregor Köbel.
Wirtz then scored his best goal of the night to give Germany a 3–2 lead 11 minutes into the second half, his superb right-footed shot from a full 30 meters (33 yd) going over Köbel and into the top corner of the net.
10 minutes from time Joel Monteiro equalized for the home side with a rifled shot that gave Baumann no chance, but six minutes from the end Wirtz made it 4–3 with another superb shot from the 18-yard line.
After this result, Switzerland’s 10-match unbeaten streak ended.
Oyarzabal stars for Spain, Netherlands beat Norway
At Villarreal, Oyarzabal was Spain’s star player in a hastily arranged game against Serbia.
The match was organized at short notice after Spain’s planned match with Argentina in Doha fell through due to the war in the Middle East, and the home team showed why they are one of the favorites to win a second World Cup title this June and July.
Oyarzabal scored his first goal after 16 minutes, Alex Baena’s smart dummy from Fermín López’s pass giving him time and space on the edge of the Serbian box, after which he fired home the goal.
His second, a minute before halftime, was an unstoppable left-foot shot from about 25 meters (27 yards).
These goals took his international tally to 26 in 53 international matches and extended his impressive scoring run. The Real Sociedad striker has scored 11 times in his last 10 matches for Spain.
Oyarzabal was withdrawn after 63 minutes as Spain handed a debut to Osasuna winger Víctor Munoz, but there was no relegation for the Serbs. Munoz capped off an enjoyable night with a goal after nine minutes, taking a beautiful back-heel pass from Ferran Torres and firing the ball home to make the score 3–0.
In Amsterdam, Norway rested their record scorer, Erling Haaland, but took the lead after 25 minutes thanks to a curling shot from Andreas Schjeldrup.
Virgil van Dijk equalized after 10 minutes when he scored with a header from a corner and Tijani Rijnders gave the home side the win just five minutes into the second half.
The win extended the Netherlands’ unbeaten streak to nine matches. The last time Ronald Koeman’s team was defeated by Spain was a year ago in a Nations League game.
In other matches, Algeria, which is pitted against Austria, Jordan and reigning world champions Argentina at the World Cup, beat Guatemala 7-0 in Genoa, and Egypt beat Saudi Arabia 4-0.
Morocco, who had drawn 1-1 with Ecuador, fell behind to a goal from John Yeboah early in the second half, but a goal from Neel El Ayanaoui two minutes from time ensured a share of the spoils.
