---
title: "Man City’s James Trafford makes England debut in frustrating draw"
canonical: "https://readmancity.com/2026/03/28/man-citys-james-trafford-makes-england-debut-in-frustrating-draw/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Samuel Johnson"
section: "Man City News"
published: "2026-03-28T08:30:00Z"
modified: "2026-03-28T08:30:00Z"
---

# Man City’s James Trafford makes England debut in frustrating draw

- England played Uruguay in a World Cup warm-up match
- James Trafford made his national team debut
- The goalkeeper was denied a clean sheet at the very end

**James Trafford was handed his first England appearance, but it did not go according to plan due to a stoppage time VAR intervention.**

Last Sunday saw James Trafford start in the Carabao Cup final against Arsenal. The shot-stopper made some important saves, which helped Manchester City claim a 2-0 victory.

This was a big moment for Trafford, especially as it was only his 13th start this season. All the while, he has been linked with a [move away from Man City](https://readmancity.com/2026/02/18/james-trafford-receives-interest-from-champions-league-club-as-transfer-rumours-intensify/).

Whether Trafford stays or goes this summer remains to be seen, but he has enjoyed a good week, and something has just happened which will make it even better.

## James Trafford has made his England debut

Trafford was named in England’s starting lineup for the very first time on Friday night, in a friendly match against Uruguay.

It was a quiet game for the most part, but things picked up in the second half, with Ben White putting England ahead after 81 minutes.

However, the defender gave away a penalty in stoppage time and Federico Valverde denied Trafford a clean sheet.

Despite this, it will still have been a memorable night for the 23-year-old and one which he will hope is the first of many.

## Man City had a number of players in action on Friday

Besides Trafford, there were plenty of other Man City players in action on Friday, including Rico Lewis. The defender scored a late penalty against Andorra, earning England a 1-1 draw in their UEFA under-21s qualifier.

Tijjani Reijnders also got himself a goal last night and it turned out to be the winner, as the Netherlands defeated a Norway team who neglected to select Erling Haaland.

Rayan Ait-Nouri got an assist for Algeria during a 7-0 victory over Guatemala and Omar Marmoush was on target for Egypt as they put Saudi Arabia to the sword.

On the whole, it was mostly a good night for Man City’s international stars and most importantly, there are no new injuries to report.