Player ratings
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Some of England’s starting players tonight will want to look away now as our very own Mike McGrath has had his say on tonight’s game with his player ratings, with some fours handed out.
Your views
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- Ashley Slater: “Japan looked like a team. England looked like strangers. I feel sorry for the fans.”
- Bill Payer: “Japan showed humility, inspiration and great spirit. Well played.”
- Peter C Boyle: “If Foden makes the squad it’ll be by default England without Kane haven’t an half-decent striker...no creative midfield player no rampaging fullback the one full back that fits the bill, Trent, not in a 35 man squad....unbelievable...”
- Gordon Bulloch: “Humiliation for England again at home too!”
- John Butler: “This manager is worse then Southgate, what a dire performance.”
- David A Jones: “Tuchel is simply not the right manager for England...”
Some of you seemingly have had enough of Thomas Tuchel, just a few months out from the World Cup. Keep your opinions coming in in the comments section at the bottom of the blog.
Tonight’s selected games
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World Cup play-offs:
Bosnia 1 Italy 1 ET
Czechia 1 Denmark 1 ET
Kosovo 0 Turkey 1 FT
Sweden 3 Poland 2 FT
Friendlies:
Ivory Coast 1 Scotland 0 FT
England 0 Japan 1 FT
Wales 1 Northern Ireland 1 FT
Republic of Ireland 0 North Macedonia 0 FT
FT stats
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Possession: England 70%-30% Japan
Shots: 19-7
Shots on target: 4-2
Corners: 11-1
Touches in opposition box: 33-13
Full time
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There is the final whistle and Japan claim a famous 1-0 victory at Wembley thanks to Mitoma’s first-half goal. A draw and a defeat in this international break for England; not the preparation Thomas Tuchel would have wanted going into this summer’s World Cup. Some boos from the home fans but the Japanese fans are delirious.
90+3 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Like London buses, two Japanese yellow cards in quick succession as Ogawa is booked.
90+2 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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The first yellow card of the game goes Watanabe’s way for delaying a restart. Japan are closing in on a big victory, even though it is just a friendly.
89 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Rogers probably should bring England level from around 10 yards out but blazes over the bar. That was a good chance for Rogers.
88 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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England have another corner with the pressure building on Japan as the visitors look to hold onto their lead. Maguire is found but his header is blocked. The ball then comes to Hall on the left side of the box. The Newcastle left-back strikes it well and forces Suzuki into a decent save at his near post.
86 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Another headed opportunity from a corner for Maguire but this time his header goes a long way off target.
84 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Maguire is straight into the action as his first touch nearly ends up being a goal but Sugawara heads away near his own goal line as Maguire’s header was definitely on target.
83 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Thomas Tuchel makes two more changes, both at centre-back, as Maguire and Burn replace Guehi and Konsa. Guehi has handed over the captain’s armband to Maguire.
79 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Rogers does brilliantly down England’s right before exchanging a one-two with Livramento. Rogers then clips a good cross to the back post but none of his teammates are on hand to meet it.
78 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Big double chance for England as first Rashford is denied by Suzuki as the shot came through traffic before the rebound falls to Bowen, who drags his effort wide.
77 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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England are starting to send some dangerous crosses into the Japan penalty area but thus far no-one in an England shirt has been able to get on the end of them, it always a blue Japan shirt that heads them away.
74 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Hall sends in a dangerous cross from the left side of the box to the back post but it is just over the head of Rogers.
71 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Double change for England as Rashford replaces Gordon and Garner comes on for Mainoo.
69 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Japan close to a second. Nakamura has it on the left side of the England box and cuts inside Livramento before curling one towards the far corner but it goes just wide of Pickford’s left post.
66 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Two changes for Japan as Seko and Ogawa come on for Ueda and H Ito.
65 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Rogers does take but it is blocked by the Japanese wall.
64 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Rogers is brought down by Kamada just outside the Japanese penalty area and this is a good chance for England. Plenty of players are standing over this one and are interested in taking it; Rogers, Gordon and Bowen all look up for it.
Rogers was the man who won the free-kick and looks most likely to take it...
61 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Foden has not had the best two games against Uruguay and now Japan; is he at real risk of missing out on the World Cup squad?
59 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Here come a quartet of changes for England as Hall, Livramento, Bowen and Solanke all make their way onto the pitch. O’Reilly, Palmer, Foden and White make their off. White received a few boos as he left the pitch.
Both full-backs changed and an out-and-out striker onto the pitch.
57 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Palmer’s corner from the right comes to the far post, where Konsa meets it but the Aston Villa defender’s header goes wide. Thomas Tuchel is preparing some changes and that is really no surprise.
55 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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A let-off for England as J Ito lifts a cross from the right side of the box over an onrushing Pickford but Ueda cannot meet the cross.
We are now 55 minutes into this game and England are still yet to register a shot on target. Anderson did have that shot in the first half that hit the bar but other than that England have created very little going forward.
51 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Nearly a second goal from Japan and it would have been another fine goal. Kamada finds his captain Doan in space out on the right with a lovely diagonal. Doan sucks O’Reilly in and gets past him with a lovely first touch. That takes him into the England box and there are a few of his teammates calling for a pass but Doan opts to shoot but is denied by Pickford.
49 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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The first corner of the second half goes England’s way. Palmer will take an inswinger from the right, which is easily caught by Suzuki. Palmer has now wasted a few set-piece deliveries.
Second half
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We are back under way at Wembley. Thomas Tuchel has not made a change at the break but you would imagine it will not be too long until he does. Probably a big 15 minutes ahead for a few players like Foden, Palmer and Mainoo.
“Not many staking a claim”
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Disastrous first half for Tuchel. Only Elliot Anderson has emerged with anything positive from it. Japan moved quicker and used the ball quicker, and they should have another goal to add to Mitoma’s opener. Not many are staking a claim to starting at the World Cup.
Tonight’s selected games
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World Cup play-offs:
Bosnia 0 Italy 1 HT
Czechia 1 Denmark 0 HT
Kosovo 0 Turkey 0 HT
Sweden 2 Poland 1 HT
Friendlies:
Ivory Coast 1 Scotland 0 (50’)
England 0 Japan 1 HT
Wales 0 Northern Ireland 1 HT
Republic of Ireland 0 North Macedonia 0 HT
HT stats
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Possession: England 70%-30% Japan
Shots: 7-4
Shots on target: 0-1
Corners: 2-1
Touches in opposition box: 16-6
Half-time
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The first half is brought to an end and Japan lead at the break courtesy of Mitoma’s goal at the end of a clinical counter-attacking move. England have not been great to say the least in that first half.
45 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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There will be one added minute at the end of this first half.
44 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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That is a waste from Palmer as England have a free-kick out on the right not far outside the penalty area but Palmer massively overhits it and the ball goes behind for a goal-kick. Probably sums up England’s half.
42 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Ueda hits the bar for the visitors. Sano plays a pass forward to pick out the run of Ueda into the England penalty area, whose shot strikes the bar. There were some appeals for offside and it would have been a close call had the ball gone in.
39 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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It is pretty subdued right now inside Wembley, with England’s performance so far not giving the home fans a whole lot to cheer about. There are plenty of Japanese fans inside Wembley this evening and they are having a good time.
36 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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O’Reilly, who scored twice for Manchester City as they beat Arsenal in the League Cup final in this stadium just over a week ago, does well on the left side of the Japan box and stands up a lovely cross towards the far post looking for his club teammate Foden but Crystal Palace midfielder Kamada does brilliantly to win the header.
34 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Anderson hits the bar as England have the best chance of the night. Gordon passes it to Anderson, who has plenty of space on the edge of the box to bring it onto his right foot and take the shot. Anderson’s curling effort hits the top of the bar as England are inches away from equalising.
31 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Nakamura has caused England real problems in this first half and his cross from the left nearly picks out Ueda in the centre of the box but England’s captain tonight Guehi makes a crucial intervention.
28 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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It has not clicked for England tonight and Japan have looked pretty comfortable sat in their shape as well as dangerous on the counter attack. Thomas Tuchel definitely would have wanted to have seen more from his team thus far.
24 mins: England 0 Japan 1
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Despite it being just 13 degrees, we have an hydration break for a minute in preparation for the World Cup, where those breaks will be three minutes, but that will be when the temperatures will be far higher than they are tonight in north London.
GOAL! Mitoma finishes off lovely move for visitors
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Japan are ahead and it is a wonderful counter-attacking goal. The visitors win the ball back inside their half and Mitoma takes them into the England half. He moves the ball out to his left to win Nakamura in space. As Nakamura enters the England penalty area on the left, he cuts it across the box to Mitoma, who slots home first time into the net with a clinical finish. Mitoma started the move by winning it back for his side and finished it off with a great finish.
19 mins: England 0 Japan 0
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Thomas Tuchel has taken some inspiration from Marcelo Bielsa, who he came up against the other night, as he uses the water cooler as a makeshift seat. I am not sure he will be massively impressed by what he has seen from his side so far. They have had plenty of possession but not done that much with it.
16 mins: England 0 Japan 0
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Palmer fizzes a path into Gordon, who attempts to play a ball first time into Foden inside the penalty area but there is too much on it and Suzuki is out of his goal to smother it. Foden was also a little bit on his toes, perhaps not expecting that first-time pass.
12 mins: England 0 Japan 0
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White makes a good overlapping run past Rogers and receives the pass forward before cutting it back at the byline. Ito intercepts but puts it behind for a corner. Palmer’s delivery finds Guehi, whose effort is blocked, before England then have a series of further shots blocked.
11 mins: England 0 Japan 0
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Foden makes a run down the left channel for England and gets to the ball just ahead of Watanabe, who ends up fouling Foden, presenting England the chance to send it into the Japan penalty area.
Palmer sends it in and Japan win the initial header before Rogers has a shot blocked.
10 mins: England 0 Japan 0
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It was a pretty bang average first half against Uruguay the other night, with Thomas Tuchel presumably demanding more of his team tonight, but thus far it has not been the best of starts from the hosts tonight.
6 mins: England 0 Japan 0
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It is safe to say the officiating was pretty woeful on Friday night and Thomas Tuchel was very visibly annoyed so he will be hoping for a better performance from the officials tonight.
4 mins: England 0 Japan 0
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There have already been a few nervy moments for England, with some sloppy passing and poor communication nearly proving costly.
3 mins: England 0 Japan 0
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Nakamura skips past White with ease down Japan’s left and cuts inside before clipping a good ball into the box but Ueda is unable to get his head on the end of it. That was far too easy for Nakamura to get past White.
Kick-off
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We are under way at Wembley. The final 90 minutes for England before Thomas Tuchel names his World Cup squad.
All of the England players in the starting line-up sang the national anthem. Even those who weren’t giving it gusto were at least giving it a go. That was not the case on Friday against Uruguay when a number of players were not singing God Save The King. It may be a group decision to all sing.
Ben White jeered by fans again when his name is announced over the public speaker just before kick-off.
Reminder of the teams
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England: Pickford, White, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly, Mainoo, Anderson, Rogers, Foden, Gordon, Palmer.
Substitutes: Trafford, Steele, Henderson, Maguire, Bellingham, Rashford, Burn, Solanke, Barnes, Bowen, Garner, Spence, Livramento, Hall.
Japan: Z Suzuki, Taniguchi, Watanabe, Ito, Doan, Kamada, Sano, Nakamura, Ito, Mitoma, Ueda.
Substitutes: Hayakawa, Osako, Suguwara, Seko, Fujita, Y Suzuki, Machino, Maeda, Hashioka, Tanaka, Ogawa, J Suzuki.
Anthem time
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After a lights show and plenty of pyrotechnics inside Wembley, both sides emerge from the tunnel and it is time for the national anthems. “Kimigayo” followed by “God Save The King”.
Thomas Tuchel on Harry Kane
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“Out of nothing it happened and he had to step out of training just 15 minutes. He had no chance of being involved tonight. Serious enough to not be able to play and we have to wait for further assessment.”
He confirmed Phil Foden will start as a false nine and indicated that Japan’s back three played a part in his decision to go for a false nine.
Mitoma starts for visitors
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The Brighton forward is in the starting XI for Japan tonight.
Which big names could miss out?
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Arguably one of the most competitive areas of the England squad right now is the number ten/ attacking midfielder position. There are plenty of players vying for spots in that area of the pitch, knowing that in all likelihood not all of them will be on the plane. Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze are all jostling for position but it looks unlikely that all of them will make the squad.
Who is most at risk? Of that quintet, Eze is probably most at risk but is Foden under pressure as well, having not really taken his opportunity against Uruguay? Could it end up being a straight shootout between Foden and Palmer? Bellingham has only just come back from injury and will not feature tonight so has missed the chance to impress Tuchel during this international break. Foden, Palmer and Rogers all start tonight.
Japanese fans out in force
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To boo or not to boo?
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Ben White’s England exile is over having come on during Friday’s draw against Uruguay. The Arsenal defender was booed when he came on before scoring England’s goal, only to then concede the penalty that Uruguay scored from to earn a draw. Was it right that some fans inside Wembley on Friday night booed White when he came on? You can have your say in the comments section at the bottom of the blog.
Only one striker set to make squad?
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Obviously captain Harry Kane is an absolute guarantee in the squad but will he be the only out-and-out striker on the plane to the US over the summer? Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who came on the other night against Uruguay, has left the squad whilst Dominic Solanke, who started against Uruguay, is on the bench this evening. Is it feasible that Thomas Tuchel may only name one outright striker, as there are a number of players who can play as a false nine? There are a few options who could start as a false nine tonight, including Phil Foden and Anthony Gordon, who has played in that position for Newcastle.
Are players prioritising club over country?
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Quite a number of players have withdrawn from the England squad between the two games during this international break, including some who did not even play in the first game on Friday like Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, who have both returned to Arsenal. With these games being just friendlies and the club season coming down the stretch, are some players prioritising being fit for their clubs over playing for their nations? Remember you can have your say in the comments section at the bottom of the blog.
Revealed: Tuchel plans to combat extreme World Cup conditions from players’ living rooms
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Thomas Tuchel’s staff have helped England players set up oxygen chambers and saunas in their own homes to prepare them for the extreme weather conditions at the World Cup this summer.
Many of Tuchel’s squad now have a hyperbaric chamber installed for oxygen therapy when they return home from training with their clubs. They also have “red-light saunas” to help recovery between matches.
This comes after last summer’s end-of-season England camp in Girona, Spain, where meetings were held to explain how they would cope with high temperatures and humidity at the World Cup. Players trained in heated tents to replicate the conditions expected in the US, Canada and Mexico at the tournament starting in 11 weeks.
Teams in full
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England: Pickford, White, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly, Mainoo, Anderson, Rogers, Foden, Gordon, Palmer.
Substitutes: Trafford, Steele, Henderson, Maguire, Bellingham, Rashford, Burn, Solanke, Barnes, Bowen, Garner, Spence, Livramento, Hall.
Japan: Z Suzuki, Taniguchi, Watanabe, Ito, Doan, Kamada, Sano, Nakamura, Ito, Mitoma, Ueda.
Substitutes: Hayakawa, Osako, Suguwara, Seko, Fujita, Y Suzuki, Machino, Maeda, Hashioka, Tanaka, Ogawa, J Suzuki.
Japan’s last five results (all friendlies)
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March 2026: Scotland 0 Japan 1
November 2025: Japan 3 Bolivia 0
November 2025: Japan 2 Ghana 0
October 2025: Japan 3 Brazil 2
October 2025: Japan 2 Paraguay 2
How will fans react to White?
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It will be interesting to hear the reaction to Ben White starting after he was jeered by fans on Friday despite scoring. This will be his first start in four years, almost to the day. He played in the March friendly against Ivory Coast in 2022 before heading to the World Cup later in the year. Will fans ever forgive him for refusing to play for England after that tournament?
Three head-to-head meetings (all friendlies)
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June 1995: England 2 Japan 1
May 2004: England 1 Japan 1
May 2010: England 2 Japan 1
Chances for Mainoo and Foden
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Kobbie Mainoo is given a start in the absence of Declan Rice, while Phil Foden has been given the No9 shirt so looks likely to be the striker.
No captain Kane
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Harry Kane has been ruled out of this clash after picking up an injury in training. It is a minor problem but still a huge blow for England tonight in their last World Cup warm-up of the season. Thomas Tuchel would have been looking to put his strongest team out tonight.
Jordan Henderson has also returned to Brentford today rather than face Japan. For England, playing without Kane at the World Cup is unthinkable. Tuchel has talked about Kane and that he does not want to be too reliant on his goals. Other players also need to step up - and they will get the chance here at Wembley.
World Cup coming into sight
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England’s World Cup preparations continue as they host Japan in a friendly at Wembley. Including tonight, Thomas Tuchel’s side have just three more games before the tournament begins in June, with tonight’s game being the final friendly before Tuchel names his 26-man squad for the World Cup in June. England drew 1-1 against Uruguay at Wembley on Friday night, with a number of first-choice players not involved for that game. Ben White, upon his return from his England exile, was booed when he came on before opening the scoring for England. He then conceded a late penalty, which was scored by Federico Valverde to earn Uruguay a draw.
11 players were set to come into the squad for tonight’s game but some have already returned to their clubs. Both Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were not involved in the draw against Uruguay but have returned to Arsenal for “medical assessment”. Their Arsenal teammate Noni Madueke picked up an injury on Friday and has also left the squad. Adam Wharton, John Stones, Aaron Ramsdale, Fikayo Tomori and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have also departed.
“I think you have the list already,” Tuchel said. “There is nothing more to add from me, I am not a medical expert. We had an assessment after the match, none of them were able to stay and get any minutes, so we released them. [Rice and Saka] had a medical assessment. They wanted desperately to play to get the narrative straight, but it made no sense to take this risk. If it had been the last game of the season, we would maybe have kept them and tried everything.
“They were both clearly in discomfort when we did the medical assessment. It made absolutely no sense that they stayed. [Adam] Wharton had a little injury, more discomfort than a little injury. Everyone will be out for some days but not dramatically. Noni [Madueke]? The pictures were slightly worse than he is feeling. Disappointed but not with the players, with the fact we want to have everyone in good spirits and health. It is the reality of the end of the season and the end of March, the reality of having payers in European matches and more than just one competition with all the cups going on.
“We have players in camp that have already played more minutes than last season, so there is some concern. The players needed and deserved the mental break from football. We could see the energy with which they came back into camp and to reconnect now in the new environment. We want them to perform in their clubs but the reality is it is our last camp before we leave to America, so we want to reconnect to our principles. It is disappointing but I am not upset with the players, I am not angry. Some of the injured players even stayed and started their treatment here. Everyone was more affected to leave than being able to stay.”
Japan faced another home nation a few days ago as they beat 1-0 Scotland at Hampden Park on Saturday thanks to Junya Ito’s late goal. They are unbeaten in their last five games (all friendlies), which includes a win over Brazil in October last year, and are 18th in the world rankings. Their group at the World Cup includes the Netherlands, Tunisia and the winner of the play-off between Sweden and Poland.
Team news to follow shortly.