Japan and England clash at Wembley ahead of 2026 World Cup showdown
England are back in international friendly action on Tuesday night as they welcome Japan to Wembley for their final game before departing to the USA for this summer's World Cup.
England will be looking to end the March international break on a high on Tuesday night after their six match winning streak came to an end on Friday night after conceding a 94th minute penalty in a 1-1 draw against Uruguay at Wembley.
Thomas Tuchel's side now face one final test against Japan on Tuesday before the manager will have to name his 26-man World Cup squad, with this being their final outing before they make the trip to the USA in June.
The Three Lions won nine of their 10 internationals in 2025 in all competitions but Friday's stalemate means England will be looking for their first win of the new year in their final game in front of their home fans before the World Cup, looking to send off in style.
Japan will head to London in confident mood on Tuesday night following a 1-0 win over Scotland in Glasgow on Friday.
Junya Ito's late winner means that Hajime Moriyasu's side make the trip to Wembley having won each of their last four matches, a run that started with a notable 3-2 home win over Brazil.
The Samurai Blue qualified for their eighth consecutive World Cup in relatively comfortable fashion, finishing top of their six-team qualifying group ahead of the likes of Australia, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.
For this summer's World Cup in Canada, the USA and Mexico, the Japanese will kick off their tournament in Dallas against the Netherlands, then travel to Monterrey to take on Tunisia, before heading back to Dallas to face either Sweden or Poland, the outcome of which will also be found out on Tuesday night.
England have won two of the three matches they've faced against Japan in the past, the other ending in a draw. The most recent meeting came back in a pre-2010 World Cup friendly in June 2010, with the Three Lions coming from behind to win 2-1 in Austria.
The two nations have met at Wembley once before, albeit the old Wembley, in which David Platt scored a late penalty to earn a 2-1 win in the Umbro Cup in June 1995.
