Newcastle United star Harvey Barnes was delighted to have returned to the fold for England on Friday night.
Almost six long years after Barnes made his first appearance for England, the Newcastle United forward came on during the draw with Uruguay at Wembley.
He played alongside club teammates Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall as Thomas Tuchel named an experimental team, billed as a set of auditions for the World Cup hopefuls.
Barnes was denied a goal on his return to Three Lions action, when Arsenal defender Ben White turned what looked like his goal-bound shot over the line.
Still, while he looked very frustrated about that the 28-year-old was just pleased to be back in the big time.
Barnes says he loved his England return
Taking to social media platform Instagram, Barnes wrote: “Loved being back out there.”
Still, it remains to be seen if he did enough to be considered in Tuchel’s squad for the World Cup later this summer.
He has intense competition for places, as one might expect at national level.
Marcus Rashford impressed during his outing at Wembley, while Anthony Gordon has played a key role under Tuchel since his appointment as England manager.
Barnes has been in good form for Newcastle this season, but it is very difficult to see how he overcomes either Rashford or Gordon in the pecking order.
In fact, he only earned his call-up after Eberechi Eze was injured, so one should consider the Arsenal forward ahead of him too.
Barnes famously rejected Scotland to try and make his way back into the England team and that has paid off to a certain extent.
Barnes has been in good form for Newcastle this season, but it is very difficult to see how he overcomes either Rashford or Gordon in the pecking order.
In fact, he only earned his call-up after Eberechi Eze was injured, so one should consider the Arsenal forward ahead of him too.
Barnes famously rejected Scotland to try and make his way back into the England team and that has paid off to a certain extent.
It, however, is currently very hard to imagine him doing enough to convince Tuchel to take him to the showpiece event in the United States, Canada and Mexico in a few months’ time.