England suffered a 1-0 defeat to Japan at Wembley on Friday evening, a lacklustre performance that will raise concerns about their preparations for this summer's World Cup in North America. Kaoru Mitoma scored the only goal of the match, capitalising on a mistake by Cole Palmer before finishing past Jordan Pickford.
Harry Kane was absent from the matchday squad after picking up a minor injury in training. Head coach Thomas Tuchel said: 'Minor injury out of nothing. It just happened. He had to step out of training yesterday after 15 minutes. No chance to be involved, not even today.' Phil Foden was deployed as a false nine in Kane's absence, but England struggled to create clear chances.
The match exposed the extent of England's injury crisis, with an initial 35-man squad reduced to just 25 for the Japan friendly. Jordan Henderson left the camp early for an undisclosed reason, while Aaron Ramsdale, Fikayo Tomori, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and John Stones all dropped out following Friday's draw with Uruguay. Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and others also returned to their clubs.
Tuchel made a series of second-half changes, introducing Dominic Solanke, Jarrod Bowen, Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento. Marcus Rashford and James Garner also came on, with Rashford registering England's first shot on target. Dan Burn and Harry Maguire were introduced late, and Maguire forced a header goalward that was cleared off the line by Yukinari Sugawara, but England could not find an equaliser.
The defeat leaves Tuchel with plenty to ponder ahead of the World Cup, with England lacking both an out-and-out striker and experience at the back. The performance was a stark reminder of the work needed before the tournament begins.
