England continue their preparations for the 2026 World Cup with a friendly against Japan.
The Three Lions warmed up for this summer’s showpiece event with a 1-1 draw against Uruguay on Friday as Ben White, on his return to the national team fold, went from hero to zero in the matter of minutes.
White had broken the deadlock with his first England goal in the 81st minute, but was at fault for Federico Valderde’s equaliser in stoppage time as he conceded the penalty.
Thomas Tuchel cut a frustrated figure at some of the decisions that went against his side at Wembley and will be hopeful of signing off from the last international break of the season on a positive note.
Japan, meanwhile, left it late to beat Scotland at the weekend and have now won their last four international matches in a row.
Date, kick-off time and venue
England vs Japan is scheduled for a 7.45pm BST kick-off on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.
The match will take place at Wembley Stadium.
Where to watch England vs Japan
TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live and free to air on ITV1, with coverage beginning at 7pm BST.
Live stream: The international friendly will be broadcast live and free to air on the ITVX website and app.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog, with expert analysis from Dom Smith at the ground.
England vs Japan team news
The England squad has been hit by further dropouts since the 1-1 draw against Uruguay with Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke returning to Arsenal for “medical assessment”, while Manchester City defender John Stones has also withdrawn.
Adam Wharton, Aaron Ramsdale, Fikayo Tomori and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have also dropped out, thus leaving Tuchel with a revised 27-man squad to choose from against Japan.
Jordan Pickford could return in goal. In front of him could be a defence that includes Dan Burn, Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa, though Tino Livramento is an option at right-back.
Captain Harry Kane and Elliot Anderson are among the players who have joined up with the squad and will play after missing Friday’s 1-1 draw with Uruguay, when an experimental side struggled at Wembley.
As for Japan, the key absentee is Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo who is in a race against the clock to be fit for the World Cup after undergoing surgery following the 1-0 win over Sunderland last month.
Manager Hajime Moriyasu could opt to make changes to the side that started the win over Scotland which could mean a start for Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma.
England vs Japan prediction
It is fourth in the world against the team ranked 18th. This suggests a fairly close game is on the cards and even more so following the flurry of withdrawals that has hit the England squad.
With that said, a Three Lions that will be boosted by the returns of Kane, Anderson and Guehi, coming up against a Japan side that poses a genuine threat in attack spells one thing; goals.
England to win, 3-2.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
This will be the first meeting of the two nations since May 2010 when two own goals from Marcus Tulio Tanaka and Yuji Nakazawa helped England come from behind to beat Japan in a friendly in Austria.
England wins: 2
Japan wins: 0
Draws: 1
England vs Japan match odds
England to win: 8/15
Japan to win: 4/1
Draw: 12/5
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
