So this was farewell. This was the send-off. This was the last time a crowd will see England play until they touch down in Florida at the beginning of June and start the final stages of the build-up to their opening game of the World Cup against Croatia in Dallas on June 17.
It was not a fond farewell. England did not take their leave of Wembley wreathed in laurels and serenaded with hosannas, put it that way. Ben White was booed again and Harry Kane was badly missed. So was Jude Bellingham. Maybe some people will start to wake up to just how important he is to this team one day.
England attempted a lap of honour at the end but gave up half-way round. The crowd was quiet during the game, the players looked lethargic and, actually, rather apprehensive. The passing was disjointed. Some of the defending was naïve. And, as for players staking a final claim to a place on the plane to the USA, Canada and Mexico? None of the fringe candidates stepped forward.
Once, it was thought we had an embarrassment of superstars jostling to play in the number 10 role. Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Morgan Rogers all played against Japan and all of them looked desperately low on form and confidence. England might have enjoyed the lion’s share of possession but Japan deserved their 1-0 victory.
When the final whistle went, there was a roar of exultation from the thousands of Japan fans in their corner of Wembley. From the England fans, there was just a low groan, a chorus of miserable, disappointed boos. At least England have not raised expectations ahead of the tournament.
Thomas Tuchel is running out of time to turn his England team into World Cup contenders
Tuchel must make difficult decisions on several players, including whether Phil Foden deserves a place in the squad
Cole Palmer was among those who looked desperately short on form and confidence at Wembley
England coach Thomas Tuchel is faced with a series of difficult decisions. Foden is a sublime player but has he really done enough to warrant a place in the squad? Has Rogers really done enough to displace Bellingham from the starting XI? What happens if Kane is injured? Apart from everyone bursting into tears.
There are arguments to be had about how important these occasions are. This one was devalued, for England, by the absences of Kane, Declan Rice, Bellingham and Bukayo Saka, all probable starters. England, don’t forget, lost their final game here before Euro 2024, against Iceland, and reached the final of that competition.
There is still time for England to start looking like contenders again but at the moment, they do not. They are still groping around in the dark for a formula. They are still searching for belief. These were things Thomas Tuchel was supposed to give them. He is running out of time to work his magic.
It was a good night for Bellingham, who spent it on the bench, still short of full fitness. It was a good night to be reminded of the difference he can make and the way he can transform a game. It was a good night to be reminded of his quality. It was a good night for anyone who wasn’t involved in this mess.
White endured an unfortunate ending to Friday’s game against Uruguay, giving away the late penalty from which Federico Valverde equalised, and he endured an unfortunate start to this match, too.
His name was booed again when it was read out before the start, a legacy of his decision to leave the England camp during the 2022 World Cup, and his first involvement in the match was to be nutmegged by Kaoru Mitoma.
Japan made the faster start but England dominated possession and 15 minutes in, there was a game of pinball in the Japan box. Marc Guehi, England’s captain for the evening, had two attempts that were blocked. Cole Palmer had another before the danger was cleared.
But then midway through the half, Japan tore England apart. Palmer dallied too long on the ball inside the Japan half and Mitoma stole in to dispossess him. Mitoma spread the ball wide to Keito Nakamura and he ran at the retreating England defence.
Kaoru Mitoma’s first half goal earned Japan a 1-0 victory over England at Wembley
The ease with which Japan had cut through Tuchel’s team for the goal was alarming
Ben White was booed again by England fans when his name was read out and when he was substituted
Nakamura drilled a precise ball across the face of the area back into the path of Mitoma. Mitoma, with equal precision, side-footed the ball first time past Nico O’Reilly and past Jordan Pickford. It was the first time Pickford had conceded a goal for England since October 2024, an unblemished run that lasted 922 minutes.
The cameras lingered on Palmer in the goal’s aftermath and even if he was culpable for the original loss of possession, the ease with which Japan had cut through Tuchel’s team had been alarming.
England tried to hit back. Elliot Anderson nearly forced an equaliser when he curled in a shot from the edge of the box that kissed the top of the crossbar on its way into touch. The atmosphere grew subdued.
It would have suffered more if Japan had taken the chance presented to them a few minutes before half-time. Kobbie Mainoo gave the ball away in his own half and Japan worked the ball quickly forward to Ayase Ueda. Ueda’s shot beat Pickford but clipped the bar. It was an escape for England.
England were struggling for rhythm. A minute before the interval, Palmer took a free kick from a dangerous position and overhit it so that it went straight into touch. On the bench, Tuchel and his assistant, Anthony Barry, glared at the pitch with faces like stone.
The first ten minutes of the second half were sobering for England. Japan outplayed them to an embarrassing degree. They were sharper, they were more assured, they were more confident, they were more technically able. England chased shadows.
England looked naïve, too. Nico O’Reilly, who had been caught out by a ball over the top to Valverde in Manchester City’s Champions League defeat to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu recently, fell into the same trap.
Ritsu Doan ran on to a crossfield ball and O’Reilly made a hash of the interception. Doan went past him as if he was not there. If he had squared the ball, Japan would have scored but he went for goal himself and Pickford saved with his legs.
A few minutes later, England were exposed again. This time, it was Mainoo who went to ground way too easily to let Doan past. England escaped when the ball was headed clear. The crowd grew even more hushed. They roused themselves only to boo White when he was substituted.
England sensed hope when they won a free-kick on the edge of the Japan box. Morgan Rogers, a wizard from that range, tried to lift his shot over the wall but it was too low. A Japanese defender headed it away and the visiting fans in the corner cheered as if they had scored.
Japan continued to make the better chances. Nakamura stepped inside his marker and bent a shot inches wide of Pickford’s left-hand post but as the game entered its final stages, England finally started to press for an equaliser.
Zion Suzuki made a good save to keep out a snap shot from Marcus Rashford and Jarrod Bowen put the rebound wide. A couple of minutes from time, Suzuki made an even better save from Lewis Hall to push his low shot round the post.
But England could not score and when the final whistle went, the boos echoed round the stadium like a long sigh.
