Thomas Tuchel reveals 'scary' concern for England after disappointing defeat to Japan

Jack Otway

By Jack Otway


Published: 01/04/2026

- 08:05

Updated: 01/04/2026

- 08:06

The German has opened up after last night's fixture at Wembley

Thomas Tuchel has admitted it will be 'scary' to watch Premier League matches from now until the end of the season in the wake of England's 1-0 defeat to Japan on Tuesday night.

The Three Lions were sunk via a goal from Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma, with the hosts struggling throughout the contest.


Prior to the clash, England had been hit with many withdrawals form the squad.

While Harry Kane was rested as a precaution, the likes of Declan Rice, Adam Wharton, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and John Stones all pulled out due to injury.

Tuchel, speaking after watching his England side crash to defeat, admitted he was concerned about more problems over the next few months as his players battle to make his World Cup squad.

"It will be scary to watch TV on the weekend and throughout, because from now on every muscle injury can mean that a player misses out," said the 52-year-old.

"It's one thing if players go, if players gets injured, which is anyway not nice but then Jordan Henderson, who is a key figure for us in camp, is out, Declan Rice is out, Bukayo is out.

Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma scored the only goal of the game as Japan beat England at Wembley

Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma scored the only goal of the game as Japan beat England at Wembley

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PA

"They are captains for their clubs, and they drive the standards. And then Harry Kane drops out so it's basically the leadership group who is not available. This affects, of course, a group.

"Everyone gave everything and from now on, of course, still now all these injuries, I think, will be still manageable in the window of time that we have to be invested in club football in May and be ready for the World Cup.

"But from now on, the next eight weeks, I am concerned, of course, and I hope that that everything goes well for the players, that they stay healthy."

England's record in their last five major tournamentsEngland's record in their last five major tournaments | PA/GETTY

Tuchel also admitted that England's defeat on home soil had left a sour taste.

The Three Lions will take to the field in less than three months' time seeking a first international trophy since 1966.

Based on this evidence, their wait for glory looks likely to go on.

He continued: "For sure, it hurts.

“It’s always painful to lose, and to lose at home hurts a lot. I think we got punished for not a lot, for one counter in the first half.

“We need these matches. It’s a tough opponent. We had several players not available, so it was a new formation again. We tried stuff, and we need to learn.”

England Japan

England were out of sorts as they lost to Japan at Wembley

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PA

He will, however, reflect on what went wrong and how England can improve between now and the summer.

“It’s very clear what we want to do and how we want to play,” stated the former Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund coach.

“We focus on the principles and the doing, not on thinking about what it means.

“It comes with pressure, it comes with noise, playing for England, that’s just how it is.

"We need to see how players adapt, and we can only see it if we try it.

“So, we tried it, and we have to learn from it. We have two months now to get it out of our clothes. The players will play a lot of football in these two months, and then we will be ready.”