England 0-1 Japan Player Ratings: Mitoma's Strike Proved To Be The Difference Maker As The Samurai Blue Stun The Three Lions At Home

A bad day at the office for Thomas Tuchel's men as England failed to win at Wembley against a spirited Japanese side in an international friendly. Tuchel went with a surprising lineup, which consisted of Phil Foden playing as a number nine, something most of the fans didn't expect at all.

The move backfired massively as Foden was mostly isolated up front, although he did look quite exquisite in the very times he got the ball. The England national football team were quite patient on the ball, trying to stitch passes together to open up the Japanese defense, but the defenders were vigilant and hit them with their pace whenever they were awarded the chance.

The goal was a classic example of that, as Japan won the ball in their own half after dispossessing one of the best Chelsea players currently, Cole Palmer, played some nice exchanges before darting down the middle.

The ball was played to Keito Nakamura on the left flank, who found Kaoru Mitoma with a low cross in the box, and the Brighton midfielder didn't make a mistake in putting it beyond Jordan Pickford's reach to give the Japan national football team the lead.

The Three Lions pushed for an equalizer, and even came close through an Elliot Anderson strike that hit the crossbar. Unfortunately, they could not find an opening as Japan kept their concentration levels high and clinched a win that will act as a massive boost to their confidence ahead of the World Cup.

Check out the England vs Japan Player Ratings.

Key Takeaways

• The Three Lions had 70% possession in the game, managing 19 shots in total, but all went in vain due to a lack of clinical finishing.
• Harry Maguire won the most aerial duels in this game (4).
• Elliot Anderson and Kaishu Sano both had a similar number of successful tackles in this match (4).

England Player Ratings vs Japan

Here are the Japan Player Ratings from the England vs Japan Player Ratings.

Japan Player Ratings vs England

Have a look at the Japan Player Ratings from the England vs Japan Player Ratings.

Man of the Match

Kaoru Mitoma was the man of the match in this international friendly.

Worst Performer

Jordan Pickford was the worst of the lot from England vs Japan.