England badly felt the absence of injured talisman Harry Kane as Japan recorded a historic 1-0 away victory in Tuesday’s friendly, with Kaoru Mitoma scoring the decisive first-half goal.
Match Report
England struggled without injured talisman Harry Kane as Japan secured a memorable 1-0 away win in Tuesday’s friendly, courtesy of Kaoru Mitoma’s first-half strike.
Using makeshift false nine Phil Foden in place of captain Kane for their final home friendly before the World Cup, Thomas Tuchel was left searching for answers at Wembley Stadium as a confident Japan side extended their winning streak to five matches.
England showed little attacking intent early on and fell behind in the 23rd minute when Mitoma sparked a swift counter-attack, passing left to Keito Nakamura, who returned the ball with a low cross for the Brighton winger to finish neatly from 12 yards.
Elliot Anderson nearly replied with a powerful effort that Zion Suzuki pushed onto the crossbar, while Ayase Ueda saw a deflected shot at the other end glance off the top of Jordan Pickford’s crossbar before the break.
Early in the second half, Pickford reacted quickly to clear Ritsu Doan’s clever attempt at the near post, while Nakamura narrowly missed the target with a curling effort after Tuchel ended the Foden experiment by bringing on striker Dominic Solanke.
Substitute Marcus Rashford forced a save from Suzuki with 12 minutes remaining, Jarrod Bowen then sent the rebound wide, and Yukinari Sugawara cleared Harry Maguire’s header off the line in the 84th minute.
England’s blunt attack proved costly as Suzuki stayed busy late on, denying Lewis Hall before Morgan Rogers fired over, sealing Japan’s place as the first Asian side to beat the Three Lions in 11 attempts.
Data Debrief: Pickford perfection ends
Mitoma’s goal was his first for Japan in nine appearances, while Pickford conceded for the first time since October 2024 (v Greece), ending a 922-minute run without conceding for England.
That match against Greece was also the last time England went behind first, having scored the opener in each of their previous 14 games and in all of their first 11 matches under Tuchel.
However, Tuchel faces growing concerns in Kane’s absence — deploying Cole Palmer and Foden in advanced roles resulted in neither player registering a shot on target, with the Manchester City midfielder also failing to create a chance.
With the World Cup approaching, Tuchel knows adjustments are needed after suffering just his second defeat in 12 matches in charge, despite England posting 0.96 expected goals (xG) compared to Japan’s 0.58.