England’s preparations for a tilt at World Cup supremacy took a sizeable dent on Tuesday night after being dealt a 1-0 loss at the hands of Japan at Wembley. A bruising March period for manager Thomas Tuchel after his side failed to build on Friday’s stalemate with Uruguay.
While a bruise saw Harry Kane stand down from attacking duties against Japan after an injury in training at the start of the week, and with manager Tuchel deciding to experiment as a consequence, it is fair to say the experiment did not pay off.
Instead of deploying a forward that was more in the like-for-like mould, the German coach decided to start with Phil Foden in the false nine role. The Manchester City star once again shoehorned into a position on international duty that is far from his best.
England lacking the focal point that they need to function at an optimal level, almost devoid of ideas without Kane to lead them into the battle – a worrying sight if the former Tottenham talisman picks up a knock in North America.
Lacking ideas and also lacking parity midway through the first half as Japan scored the only goal of the game in the 23rd minute. Brighton’s Karou Mitoma reacted quickly enough to pickpocket Cole Palmer out of possession. Seconds later, a smart finish past Jordan Pickford broke the deadlock.
The blunder from Chelsea’s Palmer not really doing himself any favours when it comes to trying to earn the coveted number 10 role in June. An almost guarantee to make the squad a few months ago, it would not be the biggest shock if he was left at the airport either.
Plenty of options to choose from in that position, the problem is that nobody is standing out from the crowd and saying, “Thomas, pick me”. Lots of quantity on offer, quality not quite at the level that you would expect from Palmer and his cohorts.
With the Phil Foden experiment being declared a complete bust just before the hour, the switch to Tottenham’s Dominic Solanke did give England an element of impetus that they had been lacking since kickoff.
Solanke joining Jarrod Bowen – who came on for Cole Palmer, a further six substitutions being made before the final whistle. That slew of changes created the disjointedness that is usually found in the dying minutes of an international friendly.
That said, one of that half dozen almost found an equaliser for the Three Lions late on. Manchester United defender Harry Maguire saw his header cleared off the line by Japan’s Yukinari Sugawara. England huffing and puffing but failing to blow the visitors’ down.
A frustrating evening for England, only adding to the frustration of their previous outing at Wembley. The mitigating circumstance of so many personnel changes across two games is not necessarily an indicator of future performance in North America.
England at its fullest strength is a far different proposition, and if anything, failure to win any of their last two friendlies will be a welcome wake-up call to Thomas Tuchel and his players. Second favourites to win the World Cup, only second best against Japan.
