International friendly/England 2 Uruguay 1: Joe Cole delivered a goal in the fourth minute of stoppage-time to give England a victory that appeared unlikely for long periods last night. The game was of questionable worth as preparation for the World Cup but it will certainly have made people yearn for the tournament.
Surely England must reveal more energy and creativity in Germany than they could against Uruguay. There was satisfaction for Sven-Goran Eriksson in seeing Peter Crouch can, as he predicted, come on and change a game. Liverpool's striker rose to head an equaliser from a Joe Cole cross late on.
Even so, it was Uruguay's midfielder Mario Regueiro, of Valencia, who provided most of the distinction. England will also recall another apparently serious injury to Wayne Bridge. The night was not a delight for the other England full-back, either. There can be friction when England meet South American opposition, but the initial hostility emanated from the crowd. Gary Neville, having missed all England's matches since August, was welcomed back with boos for his first few touches.
Considering the reaction the right-back receives when Manchester United face Liverpool here it may still be the most cordial reception he has had here.
In any case there was much more than mere token animosity to concern Neville and the other England players.
An uncomfortable first-half saw them go 1-0 down and, more seriously, lose Bridge. Chelsea's left-back, on loan to Fulham, was taken off on a stretcher off after a collision with Paul Robinson after the goalkeeper charged out to clear.
Bridge suffered fractures to leg and ankle at the start of 2005 and has only lately shown signs of regaining form.
He now seems to have hurt ankle ligaments. The sympathy for him will be mingled, in Eriksson's mind, with concern about the left-back spot itself, since Ashley Cole of Arsenal was also hurt when he attempted to make a comeback on Monday. Jamie Carragher, an established centre-half nowadays, was brought on for Bridge after half an hour here.
He had to play his part in addressing England's problem. Four minutes earlier, John Terry had headed out a corner and Uruguay's holding midfielder Omar Pouso struck a perfect 30-yard volley past Robinson. That sort of finish had not been anticipated but a certain sluggishness was apparent in England from the start.
In the 11th minute, for instance, Rio Ferdinand had let himself be dispossessed by his former United team-mate Diego Forlan, although the centre-back showed the recovery speed to prevent any damage being done. Uruguay, with their excellent captain Diego Lugano in the middle of defence, did not look as if they would be prone to similar lapses.
Uruguay had also been fairly adventurous and, while the game was goalless, there was no sustained Engand threat. Cole moved well but when he took a Michael Carrick pass after 21 minutes, the right-back Carlo Diogo did just enough to distract him so that the finish went wide.
Cole featured again two minutes later by releasing David Beckham. The captain, however, lifted a finish high, seemingly too conscious that the the on-rushing goalkeeper Fabian Carini was racing out to make contact with him. Beckham, later booked for a foul on Gustavo Varela, was having an unsatisfactory outing.
He was not alone. England did not muster dynamism until Uruguay were in front. Terry then forced a way through before shooting wide.
Darren Bent, invited to show why he should be taken to the World Cup finals, responded well in the 42nd minute to meet Neville's header and turn away from Varela before hitting a shot that, unnoticed by the referee, ran wide because of a deflection off Diego Godin.
With Terry and Steven Gerrard replaced at the interval, out of a regard for Champions League commitments, the substitutes Ledley King and Jermaine Jenas had to settle down while helping to raise the tempo. Wayne Rooney did demand a sound save from Uruguay's replacement goalkeeper Sebastian Viera in the 48th minute.
ENGLAND: Robinson, Neville, Ferdinand, Terry, Bridge, Beckham, Gerrard, Carrick, Cole, Rooney, Bent. Subs: Young, James, Carragher, King, Brown, Richardson, Jenas, Wright-Phillips, Defoe, Crouch, Green.
URUGUAY: Carini, Diogo, Lugano, Godin, Lima, Pouso, Perez, Varela, Vargas, Regueiro, Forlan. Subs: Valdez, Medina, Martinez, Viera, Pereira, Sarkissian, Salgueiro, Gonzalez.
Referee: Stefano Farina (Italy)
Guardian service
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)