Northern Ireland to face Uruguay in World Cup warm-up

Northern Ireland have been announced as Uruguay’s final World Cup warm-up opponents ahead of their Group D clash with England.

Uruguay meet Michael O'Neill’s men on June 19 in Sao Paulo, with games against Italy and Costa Rica either side.

Their warm-up programme sees them take on Austria in Klagenfurt on May 5 and Slovenia in Montevideo on June 4, and they will now host Michael O’Neill’s side in between.

With so many of O’Neill’s side based in Britain, they are likely to be seen as a good match for England, albeit significantly lower down the FIFA rankings.

A statement on the Uruguayan Football Association (UAF) website read: “The third and final opponent of the Uruguayan national team for their pre- World Cup preparation is confirmed. To the already fixed matches against Austria and Slovenia, it was determined that Northern Ireland will be the rival of Uruguay on May 30.”

The sides last met in New Jersey in 2006, during current manager Oscar Tabarez’s first match in charge.