England will host Uruguay and Japan in friendly matches at Wembley Stadium next March in preparation for the 2026 World Cup, the Football Association announced on Wednesday.
The exhibition encounters will
be the last opportunity for England manager Thomas Tuchel to assess his squad before finalising his selection for the tournament in May.
After last week’s draw did not pair England with Asian or South American teams, Tuchel suggested it might be preferable to find different opponents for March.
Nevertheless, the fixtures have been confirmed, with England set to face 16th-ranked Uruguay on March 27, followed by a clash with 18th-ranked Japan three days later.
“We are really pleased to have these two fixtures confirmed as our World Cup year takes shape,” Tuchel said in a statement.
“We wanted to play two teams ranked in the top 20 in the world and also to test ourselves against opponents from outside of Europe.”
England’s most recent encounter with Uruguay resulted in a 2-1 defeat during the group stage at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. England have only faced Japan three times, most recently in 2010.
Tuchel’s squad is expected to play two additional warm-up matches in the United States in the days leading up to the World Cup, which will be hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
England are in Group L of the World Cup, where they will face Croatia, Ghana, and Panama in the group stage. Their opening match is scheduled for June 17 against Croatia in Dallas.
(With Inputs From Agencies)
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