England World Cup Squad Watch: Regulars Return For Japan Friendly Amid Tuchel Assessment

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England step into their final World Cup warm-up at Wembley against Japan with selection questions still open, as Thomas Tuchel balances returning stars, injury problems and the momentum from a mixed 1-1 draw with Uruguay that ended a long clean-sheet run but extended a powerful scoring streak.

The Uruguay match gave several fringe players a rare audition, because Harry Kane, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon, Elliot Anderson, Marc Guehi, Morgan Rogers, Ezri Konsa, Dean Henderson, Nico O'Reilly and Jude Bellingham were all rested, yet England were still close to victory until Federico Valverde converted a late penalty.

That Valverde spot-kick halted England’s run of 629 minutes without conceding, the first goal allowed since a 3-1 defeat to Senegal in June 2025, but Tuchel’s team maintain a strong scoring trend, having found the net in 21 straight matches across all competitions since a 0-0 draw with Slovenia at Euro 2024.

England’s meeting with Japan continues a short but favourable head-to-head record, with three previous clashes bringing two 2-1 victories, in June 1995 at the Umbro Cup and in a May 2010 friendly, plus a 1-1 draw in June 2004, while no Asian nation has beaten England in 10 attempts overall.

Recent friendly form, however, offers a warning sign for England, who have won only two of their last seven such fixtures, drawing two and losing three, after a previous run of 12 consecutive friendly wins between 2018 and 2023, so Tuchel will want a sharper display against Japan.

The rested core group of Kane, Gordon, Anderson, Guehi, Konsa, Rogers, Henderson and O'Reilly have now rejoined the squad for the Japan game, yet Tuchel will be without John Stones, who has gone back to Manchester City for an injury assessment, plus Rice and Saka, who have returned to Arsenal.

Noni Madueke and Adam Wharton suffered knocks against Uruguay and also headed back to their clubs, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Fikayo Tomori and Aaron Ramsdale have left the camp after failing to fully convince, which leaves Tuchel with several high-profile options but fewer places to experiment before naming a preliminary World Cup list.

England vs Japan James Garner impact and midfield options

Among those who did seize a chance, debutant James Garner impressed strongly, with Tuchel even describing the Everton midfielder, who can also fill in at full-back, as the Three Lions’ "mini-Valverde", and that glowing comparison underlined how much the 25-year-old has improved over a standout club season.

Garner translated club form to international level by creating four chances, more than any other player, completing 15 passes in the final third, also a game-high figure, and winning six of nine duels, making a strong argument to partner Anderson in a more progressive midfield unit than one built around Jordan Henderson.

With Rice and Wharton unavailable, set-piece responsibilities are also under review, as 10 of England’s last 18 goals have come from dead-ball situations, including five from corners, three from free-kicks and two from penalties, with 40% either scored or assisted by Arsenal players, so Tuchel must now look elsewhere for delivery quality.

England vs Japan attacking competition and player motivation

Kane returns as captain and automatic World Cup pick after scoring 48 goals in all competitions for Bayern Munich since last summer’s Club World Cup, while also netting 10 times across his last 10 England appearances, and could achieve back-to-back multi-goal games for the national side for the first time since November 2021.

Phil Foden, by contrast, underwhelmed against Uruguay and now faces real competition for a starting berth, because Gordon and Rogers are back in contention and Marcus Rashford produced a lively display, completing six dribbles, Rashford’s highest England total since recording seven against Croatia in November 2018.

That dribble output from Rashford was also double his best single-game figure this season for Barcelona, where three successful dribbles has been his peak, so despite likely beginning on the bench with Gordon and Rogers involved again, Rashford has done more than Foden recently to keep World Cup selection hopes strong.

England vs Japan Japan momentum, key players and statistics

Japan arrive at Wembley in strong shape, unbeaten in seven games against European opponents, with six wins and one draw, including three successive victories over Germany, Turkiye and Scotland, while they have twice previously managed sequences of four straight wins against European nations, in May 2009 and February 2013.

Across all competitions, Japan have eight wins from their last 11 matches, with two draws and one defeat, and the 1-0 success away to Scotland at Hampden Park was deserved, as they produced 18 shots and chances worth 2.1 expected goals, while restricting Scotland to eight attempts and 0.9 expected goals.

The attacking threat comes from several familiar names, with Junya Ito scoring the winner in Glasgow, Kaoru Mitoma known well to Premier League followers and Daizen Maeda established as a leading forward for Celtic, giving Japan a disciplined side that functions effectively in defence and attack rather than relying on individual superstars.

England vs Japan players to watch and prediction data

Ito is Japan’s standout attacking contributor heading into this fixture, with four goal involvements in the last three internationals, one goal and three assists, and a chance to score in consecutive games for the first time since a run of three in September 2023, while leading Japan with 22 goal contributions since the start of 2023.

Opta's supercomputer model leans clearly towards an England victory, giving Tuchel’s side a 59.6% chance of winning after running 10,000 simulations, while Japan’s win probability stands at 19.3% and the likelihood of a draw is measured at 21.2%, figures that reflect England’s deeper squad despite Japan’s current form surge.

This Wembley meeting offers Tuchel a final high-level examination before selecting a preliminary World Cup squad, with England defending a perfect record against Asian teams since beating Iran 6-2 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while Japan aim to extend their strong run against European opposition and test a reshaped England lineup.