Compared to other farewells at Wembley, this is a bitter farewell.
The only consolation for the England team is that the 2026 World Cup is still not near. If the tournament is right in front of them, Thomas Tuchel's team will really have to face many worries. Despite calling up almost all the best faces in hand, the German coach left this training camp with more questions than answers, after a lackluster and disjointed performance against Japan.
This defeat is also a clear reminder that, without Harry Kane, the England team becomes mediocre, lacks sharpness and has no weight in attack. Kane was absent from the last friendly match at Wembley due to a foot injury, and the "Three Lions" immediately lost their leader, spiritual support and the biggest threat in front of the opponent's goal.
There are only more than 2 months left until the World Cup opening match against Croatia, and the defeat against Japan is clearly a strong warning.
Under Tuchel, England has not yet been able to defeat any team in the top 20 in the world. Any idea that they can dominate this summer's World Cup becomes quite far-fetched. Japan is currently ranked 19th in the FIFA rankings, while England is fourth, but the home team was defeated convincingly. Before that, they also could not beat Uruguay and lost to Senegal last summer.
Every time they face a strong enough opponent, England reveals the problem. What is more worrying is that Croatia, their first opponent at the 2026 World Cup, is currently ranked 11th in the world. The core problem lies in the fact that England is trying to put as many good players as possible into the same squad, but the result is creating a clearly unbalanced team.
This match shows that Phil Foden and Cole Palmer probably cannot start together in such a system. England uses too many players who tend to play like number 10, but there is no one who can really take on the role of center forward, let alone a false number 9. Foden is ranked highest, but that was a forgettable evening for the declining Manchester City player. He was substituted off before the 60th minute after a lackluster performance.
Palmer was given the right to move freely, Anthony Gordon played on the left wing, and Morgan Rogers initially played in the center and then drifted to the right wing. But all became out of sync in a chaotic system.
It is worth mentioning that England's clearest opportunity in the first minutes came from a set-piece by Palmer. Japan did not clear the ball decisively, the English players continuously finished but were all blocked. There was too much effort, too much talent, too much calculation, yet England still had to rely on dead balls. The disappointment at Wembley is completely perceptible.
Japanese fans occupied a large part of the stands and created a very exciting atmosphere. They had even more reason to celebrate when their team found a goal in a very convincing way. Palmer himself lost the ball clumsily in midfield, creating conditions for Kaoru Mitoma to steal the ball before passing it to Keito Nakamura on the wing.
Nakamura has too much space on the right flank of the England team. That is a detail that is both shameful and shows that the "Three Lions" squad is unbalanced, unstable and unreasonably organized.
The question is where is the right wing of the England team? No one really controls that area, and Ben White is almost lost in the right-back position. This was really a terrible night for this player. Nakamura escaped, crossed backwards for Mitoma to rush in and finish. The ball hit Nico O'Reilly and went into the bottom corner of the goal.
Elliot Anderson then had a shot that hit the crossbar when England tried to find an equalizer, but in general Tuchel's team was still deadlocked. Not only was their attack lacking sharpness, but their defense also played uncertainly. Ayase Ueda had a shot that hit the crossbar, and Ritsu Doan also made Jordan Pickford show his talent by saving with his foot.
After this match, the England team clearly has a lot of work to do. They not only need Harry Kane to return, but also need a more balanced, clearer and more effective system if they really want to enter the World Cup as a championship candidate.
