England produced a flat display as Japan came to Wembley and secured victory – which will have left Thomas Tuchel questioning whether some of his players are World Cup worthy
21:38, 31 Mar 2026Updated 21:44, 31 Mar 2026
Kaoru Mitoma proved to be Japan’s shining light at Wembley
Japan rocked up to Wembley and downed England as they underlined their World Cup credentials with an impressive win, that owed to a first-half strike from Karou Mitoma.
The Brighton ace, playing against familiar opponents given his time in the Premier League, was on hand to finish a first-half break as his shot left Jordan Pickford with no chance.
Japan had chances to further their lead with Thomas Tuchel’s side finishing this international block in underwhelming fashion. The draw with Uruguay was followed by a loss as the hosts, minus Harry Kane due to an injury, lacked any real cutting edge as they began without a conventional No 9.
Elliot Anderson’s effort in the first-half was as close as England came, his strike cannoning off the bar, but even with the clock against them the Three Lions struggled to create any sort of chance that would’ve salvaged the game. Substitute Marcus Rashford found a yard to get a shot away, but his effort was straight at the goalkeeper, albeit his 77th minute effort was England’s first shot on target. Morgan Rogers would later lash over an effort from close range.
Tuchel is running out of games before the World Cup begins this summer, and few will have enhanced their chances on Tuesday night. Japan meanwhile underlined the fact that they can be a serious threat as they dealt the English a reality check. Here’s our player ratings from Wembley.
READ MORE: Why England’s opponents have sacked their manager 72 days before 2026 World CupREAD MORE: New theory emerges of why Ben White got ‘really upset’ during England camp
England (4-2-3-1)
Jordan Pickford
Not much he could do on Japan’s goal but made fine stop with his legs.
Rating: 7
Ben White
Exposed defensively time and again. Miles off the pace. A real weak link.
Rating: 4
Ezri Konsa
A real Tuchel favourite – and he at least did his best to hold the defence together.
Rating: 6
Ben White endured a difficult night down the right
Marc Guehi
Given the captain’s armband to underline Tuchel’s trust but far from his best night.
Rating: 6
Nico O’Reilly
Was unlucky to see Mitoma’s goal take a nick off him. Exposed defensively.
Rating: 5
Elliot Anderson
Was solid enough and crashed a shot off the top of the crossbar.
Rating: 7
Kobbie Mainoo
Neat and tidy, nice passing but did not really open up Japan’s defence.
Rating: 6
Elliot Anderson was a rare bright spark for England
Cole Palmer
Tried hard but he gave the ball away before Japan’s goal. Nowhere near his best.
Rating: 6
Morgan Rogers
Drifted out to the right and got lost. Looked to make things happen but missing spark.
Rating: 5
Anthony Gordon
His pace and direct runs at least showed some threat. One of England’s better performers.
Rating: 6
Thomas Tuchel was left to digest a rare loss as England boss
Phil Foden
Started as a false nine and it did not work as he provided very little threat.
Rating: 5
Substitutes
Bowen, for Palmer, 59 mins, 6
Solanke, for Foden, 59 mins, 6
Livramento, for White, 59 mins, 6
Hall, for O’Reilly, 59 mins, 7
Garner, for Mainoo, 71 mins, 6
Rashford, for Gordon, 71 mins, 7
Maguire, for Guehi, 83 mins, N/A
Burn, for Konsa, 83 mins, N/A
Subs: Trafford, Steele, Henderson, Bellingham, Barnes, Spence
Japan: Suzuki 7, J. Ito 7 (Seko, 66, 6), Watanabe 7, Taniguchi 6, Nakamura 7, Sano 6, Kamada 7, Doan 7, Mitoma 8, H. Ito 7, Ueda 7 (Ogawa, 66, 6)
Subs: Hayakawa, Osaka, Sugawara, Seko, Fujita, Y. Suzuki, Machino, Maeda, Hashioka, Tanaka, Ogawa, J. Suzuki.
Man of the match: Karou Mitoma
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.