England vs Japan predictions, team news, lineups and odds
After the disappointment of conceding a 94th-minute equaliser to Uruguay, Thomas Tuchel will be extra keen to get a win on the board in the second match of England’s international break double header.
Ben White’s tap-in looked set to give the Three Lions victory over the South Americans on Thursday but the Arsenal defender – making his first international appearance for four years – then conceded a penalty in injury-time.
Real Madrid’s Fede Valverde stuck away the spot-kick and the Uruguayans, who had offered virtually no attacking threat, pinched a draw.
The good news for Tuchel is that he can call on the cavalry for this quickfire return to Wembley.
Picking a squad of 35 for the two games meant Tuchel left out a plethora of big names for the Uruguay match.
On Tuesday, he can call upon such stars as Harry Kane, Marc Guehi and Elliot Anderson although Arsenal pair Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, who both missed the Uruguay game, have dropped out of the squad for “medical assessment”.
Japan go into the game after beating Scotland 1-0 at Hampden on Saturday evening.
Playing just two days later will stretch them although boss Hajime Moriyasu changed all 10 outfield players during the win over the Scots.
Looking ahead, for the finals in North America, England have been drawn in Group L alongside Croatia, Ghana and Panama.
Japan face the Netherlands, Tunisia and a playoff winner in Group F.
How to watch England v Japan
England v Japan kicks off at 19:45 GMT on Tuesday, March 31 at Wembley.
The game will be shown live on ITV1 and ITVX, with coverage starting from 19:00.
BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT will both provide full match commentary.
England team news
As well as Saka and Rice, Noni Madueke, John Stones, Adam Wharton, Aaron Ramsdale, Fikayo Tomori and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have also dropped out of the squad.
But the large majority of the players who sat out the Uruguay game – as was the plan – are set to return.
Jordan Pickford will be back between the sticks while Guehi, Ezri Konsa and Newcastle pair Tino Livramento and Dan Burn are available.
Rice’s absence could give another chance to Everton’s James Garner in midfield, and Kane’s return in attack will be welcomed.
Anthony Gordon may start on the left, while Tuchel will need to decide between Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham for the No.10 role.
England expected line-up
(4-2-3-1) Pickford; Livramento, Guehi, Konsa, O’Reilly; Anderson, Garner; Bowen, Rogers, Gordon; Kane.
Japan team news
Japan left plenty of their bigger names on the bench for the start of the Scotland game before bringing them into the fold in the second period.
It worked as one of the substitutes, Junya Ito, got the winning goal late on.
He could start again alongside Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma as part of a two behind striker Ayase Ueda.
Japan, who set up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, will again be without captain Waturu Endo after the Liverpool midfielder suffered a long-term injury in the Reds’ win at Sunderland back in February.
Japan expected line-up
(3-4-2-1) Suzuki; Seko, Watanabe, Hiroki Ito; Sugawara, Fujita, Tanaka, Kamada; Junya Ito, Mitoma; Ueda.
England v Japan stats
– England are unbeaten in their three games against Japan, beating them 2-1 in both June 1995 in the Umbro Cup and in a May 2010 friendly, while they shared a 1-1 draw in June 2004.
– An Asian nation has never previously beaten England in 10 attempts (D4 L6). This is England’s first game against an Asian team since a 6-2 win over Iran in November 2022 at the FIFA World Cup.
– England have scored in their last 21 matches in all competitions since a 0-0 draw with Slovenia at EURO 2024. It’s their longest scoring streak since a 32-game run between 1902 and 1910.
– Kane has scored 10 goals across his last 10 international appearances, and he could score two or more goals in successive matches for the national team for the first time since November 2021.
– Ten of England’s last 18 goals have come via set-piece situations (5x corner, 3x free-kick, 2x penalty).
– England have won just two of their last seven friendly matches (D2 L3), having won 12 consecutively between 2018 and 2023 beforehand.
– Japan are unbeaten in their last seven matches against European nations in all competitions (W6 D1), winning each of their last three against Germany, Turkey and Scotland.
– Following his winner against Scotland, Ito now has four goal involvements across his last three international matches (1 goal, 3 assists)
England v Japan predictions
Japan’s 1-0 win against Scotland wasn’t just one good isolated result.
It confirmed that the Samurai Blue are a serious outfit and added to recent friendly wins over Brazil, Ghana and Bolivia.
They’ve also now won six of their last seven games against European opposition, and that includes a 4-1 victory over Germany.
Since March 2024, Japan have played 20 internationals. They’ve won 14, drawn four and lost just twice.
In short, this won’t be easy for England even if they have some of the big hitters back.
The Three Lions are 4/7 to win but, in a match expected to be tight, I’d prefer to head to the Winning Margin market and back England to win by 1 goal at 13/5.
Harry Kane, who has a remarkable 53 goals in 45 matches for club and country this season, is 7/5 to score and that seems fair on those numbers.
