England v Japan, 31 March 2026

Score1-0 to Japan
RefereeNick Walsh
CompetitionInternational Friendly -
VenueWembley Stadium
Attendance79,233

View England v Japan head to head

Kick-off: 7.45pm local . Head to Head Played: 4 England won: 2 Drawn: 1 Japan won: 1 England scored: 6 Japan scored: 4 . FIFA Ranking: England 4th, Japan 19th . Both teams had scored in each of the previous three meetings.

0 England

Manager: Thomas Tuchel

1 Japan

Manager: Hajime Moriyasu

Goals:

Goals:

Kaoru Mitoma 23 G

Starting lineup:

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford
Defender Marc Guéhi (captain)
Defender Ben White
Defender/Midfielder Ezri Konsa
Defender/Midfielder Nico O'Reilly
Midfielder Elliott Anderson
Midfielder Kobbie Mainoo
Midfielder/Forward Phil Foden
Midfielder/Forward Anthony Gordon
Midfielder/Forward Cole Palmer
Midfielder/Forward Morgan Rogers

Starting lineup:

Zion Suzuki Goalkeeper
Hiroki Ito Defender
Tsuyoshi Watanabe Defender
Shogo Taniguchi Defender/Midfielder
Ritsu Doan Midfielder (captain)
Daichi Kamada Midfielder
Kaishu Sano Midfielder
Junya Ito Midfielder/Forward
Kaoru Mitoma Midfielder/Forward
Keito Nakamura Midfielder/Forward
Ayase Ueda Forward

Substitutions:

Jarrod Bowen for Cole Palmer 59
Lewis Hall for Nico O'Reilly 59
Tino Livramento for Ben White 60
Dominic Solanke for Phil Foden 60
James Garner for Kobbie Mainoo 71
Marcus Rashford for Anthony Gordon 71
Dan Burn for Marc Guéhi 83
Harry Maguire for Ezri Konsa 83

Substitutions:

Koki Ogawa for Ayase Ueda 66
Ayumu Seko for Hiroki Ito 66
Junnosuke Suzuki for Kaoru Mitoma 71
Ao Tanaka for Ritsu Doan 71
Yukinari Sugawara for Daichi Kamada 80
Yuito Suzuki for Junya Ito 80
Shūto Machino for Keito Nakamura 81

Cards:

Cards:

Tsuyoshi Watanabe 90+2 Y
Koki Ogawa 90+3 Y

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Dean Henderson
Goalkeeper Jason Steele
Goalkeeper James Trafford
Defender Dan Burn
Defender Harry Maguire
Defender Djed Spence
Defender/Midfielder James Garner
Defender/Midfielder Lewis Hall
Defender/Midfielder Tino Livramento
Midfielder Jude Bellingham
Midfielder/Forward Harvey Barnes
Midfielder/Forward Jarrod Bowen
Midfielder/Forward Marcus Rashford
Forward Dominic Solanke

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Tomoki Hayakawa
Goalkeeper Keisuke Osako
Defender Ayumu Seko
Defender Yukinari Sugawara
Defender Junnosuke Suzuki
Defender/Midfielder Daiki Hashioka
Midfielder Joel Fujita
Midfielder Ao Tanaka
Midfielder/Forward Shūto Machino
Midfielder/Forward Daizen Maeda
Midfielder/Forward Ryūnosuke Satō
Midfielder/Forward Yuito Suzuki
Forward Keisuke Gotō
Forward Koki Ogawa
Forward Kento Shiogai

Comments:

This was England's first-ever loss to an Asian nation (played 11, won six). . They had now lost four of their last eight international friendlies (won two). . Marc Guéhi had now become the 129th player to captain the Three Lions, of which nine were born outside of England.

Comments:

Japan now remained unbeaten in eight consecutive games against UEFA nations for the first time. . The Blue Samurai had now won five consecutive games for the first time since October 2024 (seven). . Although he did not play in the game, current manager Hajime Moriyasu was in the first ever Japanese squad to play England (in the Umbro Cup at Wembley Stadium in June 1995).

0 England

Manager: Thomas Tuchel

Goals:

Starting lineup:

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford
Defender Marc Guéhi (captain)
Defender Ben White
Defender/Midfielder Ezri Konsa
Defender/Midfielder Nico O'Reilly
Midfielder Elliott Anderson
Midfielder Kobbie Mainoo
Midfielder/Forward Phil Foden
Midfielder/Forward Anthony Gordon
Midfielder/Forward Cole Palmer
Midfielder/Forward Morgan Rogers

Substitutions:

Jarrod Bowen for Cole Palmer 59
Lewis Hall for Nico O'Reilly 59
Tino Livramento for Ben White 60
Dominic Solanke for Phil Foden 60
James Garner for Kobbie Mainoo 71
Marcus Rashford for Anthony Gordon 71
Dan Burn for Marc Guéhi 83
Harry Maguire for Ezri Konsa 83

Cards:

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Dean Henderson
Goalkeeper Jason Steele
Goalkeeper James Trafford
Defender Dan Burn
Defender Harry Maguire
Defender Djed Spence
Defender/Midfielder James Garner
Defender/Midfielder Lewis Hall
Defender/Midfielder Tino Livramento
Midfielder Jude Bellingham
Midfielder/Forward Harvey Barnes
Midfielder/Forward Jarrod Bowen
Midfielder/Forward Marcus Rashford
Forward Dominic Solanke

Comments:

This was England's first-ever loss to an Asian nation (played 11, won six). . They had now lost four of their last eight international friendlies (won two). . Marc Guéhi had now become the 129th player to captain the Three Lions, of which nine were born outside of England.

1 Japan

Manager: Hajime Moriyasu

Goals:

Kaoru Mitoma 23 G

Starting lineup:

Zion Suzuki Goalkeeper
Hiroki Ito Defender
Tsuyoshi Watanabe Defender
Shogo Taniguchi Defender/Midfielder
Ritsu Doan Midfielder (captain)
Daichi Kamada Midfielder
Kaishu Sano Midfielder
Junya Ito Midfielder/Forward
Kaoru Mitoma Midfielder/Forward
Keito Nakamura Midfielder/Forward
Ayase Ueda Forward

Substitutions:

Koki Ogawa for Ayase Ueda 66
Ayumu Seko for Hiroki Ito 66
Junnosuke Suzuki for Kaoru Mitoma 71
Ao Tanaka for Ritsu Doan 71
Yukinari Sugawara for Daichi Kamada 80
Yuito Suzuki for Junya Ito 80
Shūto Machino for Keito Nakamura 81

Cards:

Tsuyoshi Watanabe 90+2 Y
Koki Ogawa 90+3 Y

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Tomoki Hayakawa
Goalkeeper Keisuke Osako
Defender Ayumu Seko
Defender Yukinari Sugawara
Defender Junnosuke Suzuki
Defender/Midfielder Daiki Hashioka
Midfielder Joel Fujita
Midfielder Ao Tanaka
Midfielder/Forward Shūto Machino
Midfielder/Forward Daizen Maeda
Midfielder/Forward Ryūnosuke Satō
Midfielder/Forward Yuito Suzuki
Forward Keisuke Gotō
Forward Koki Ogawa
Forward Kento Shiogai

Comments:

Japan now remained unbeaten in eight consecutive games against UEFA nations for the first time. . The Blue Samurai had now won five consecutive games for the first time since October 2024 (seven). . Although he did not play in the game, current manager Hajime Moriyasu was in the first ever Japanese squad to play England (in the Umbro Cup at Wembley Stadium in June 1995).