ShareThis is it, the last chance for those players on England’s peripheries to make a serious impression on Thomas Tuchel ahead of the summer’s World Cup. Japan make the trip to Wembley hoping to throw a spanner in the works.By Alex RobertsVeteran Japan winger Junya Ito scored in the 84th minute to see his side narrowly beat Scotland on Saturday. They’re now on a run of four wins and one draw over their last five games, including a 3-2 win over Brazil, so they can beat the big boys.Ben White made his long-awaited England return in their 1-1 draw with Uruguay, and oh boy, did he create some headlines. The Arsenal man was booed by the fans, scored the opener, and then conceded a penalty which Federico Valverde converted. All in all, it was a poor performance from the Three Lions. They need to step it up.England’s very own ValverdeThat’s how Tuchel described James Garner following his England debut in the Uruguay game. The similarities are there, they’ve both had to play as full backs for their club, but the Real Madrid ace is certainly more established.Garner earned his chance to represent England with some incredible performances for Everton so far this season, and he didn’t look out of place. The midfielder created four chances, had a pass accuracy rate of 93%, and made 10 passes into the final third.Central midfield is starting to look pretty stacked for England. Declan Rice is a guaranteed starter, but Garner has now placed himself alongside Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton, and Kobbie Mainoo in Tuchel’s reckoning. This is a good problem to have.A potential dark horse?Every World Cup has one. Last time out everyone expected it to be Türkiye, but they fell well short of expectations. Japan have some incredibly talented players at their disposal, and manager Hajime Moriyasu has made them hard to beat.Japan’s FIFA ranking (recent history)Japan haven’t conceded a goal since their 3-2 win over Brazil back in October, beating Ghana 2-0, Bolivia 3-0, and most recently Scotland 1-0. Playing a back three, Moriyasu’s boys have prioritised defensive solidity.That doesn’t mean Japan don’t have more creative players though. Premier League fans will be well aware of Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma, arguably one of the best dribblers around today. Japan have everything needed to be a serious threat this summer, a win or even a draw here would be a real statement.Team newsNoni Madueke picked up and injury in the draw with Uruguay, while Arsenal appear to have recalled Rice and Bukayo Saka for ‘medical assessments.’ We’re sure that has nothing to do with the Premier League title race.Adam Wharton, John Stones, Fikayo Tomori, Aaron Ramsdale and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have all returned to their respective clubs too, but it’s not all bad news.Dean Henderson, Nico O’Reilly, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guéhi, Dan Burn, Anderson, Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane have all joined up with the squad after watching the game on Friday from the stands. Either way, Tuchel has plenty of options.Japan don’t really have anything to worry about in terms of squad selection. The only issue is Takehiro Tomiyasu had expected to join up with the squad for this game, but he has since been forced to withdraw and remain with Ajax due to injury.PredictionThere are quite a few England players that need to take this game by the scruff of the neck. Japan aren’t an easy opposition, but we’re going with a 2-0 win for Tuchel’s side.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every England game with FotMob – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.This is it, the last chance for those players on England’s peripheries to make a serious impression on Thomas Tuchel ahead of the summer’s World Cup. Japan make the trip to Wembley hoping to throw a spanner in the works.By Alex RobertsVeteran Japan winger Junya Ito scored in the 84th minute to see his side narrowly beat Scotland on Saturday. They’re now on a run of four wins and one draw over their last five games, including a 3-2 win over Brazil, so they can beat the big boys.Ben White made his long-awaited England return in their 1-1 draw with Uruguay, and oh boy, did he create some headlines. The Arsenal man was booed by the fans, scored the opener, and then conceded a penalty which Federico Valverde converted. All in all, it was a poor performance from the Three Lions. They need to step it up.England’s very own ValverdeThat’s how Tuchel described James Garner following his England debut in the Uruguay game. The similarities are there, they’ve both had to play as full backs for their club, but the Real Madrid ace is certainly more established.Garner earned his chance to represent England with some incredible performances for Everton so far this season, and he didn’t look out of place. The midfielder created four chances, had a pass accuracy rate of 93%, and made 10 passes into the final third.Central midfield is starting to look pretty stacked for England. Declan Rice is a guaranteed starter, but Garner has now placed himself alongside Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton, and Kobbie Mainoo in Tuchel’s reckoning. This is a good problem to have.A potential dark horse?Every World Cup has one. Last time out everyone expected it to be Türkiye, but they fell well short of expectations. Japan have some incredibly talented players at their disposal, and manager Hajime Moriyasu has made them hard to beat.Japan’s FIFA ranking (recent history)Japan haven’t conceded a goal since their 3-2 win over Brazil back in October, beating Ghana 2-0, Bolivia 3-0, and most recently Scotland 1-0. Playing a back three, Moriyasu’s boys have prioritised defensive solidity.That doesn’t mean Japan don’t have more creative players though. Premier League fans will be well aware of Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma, arguably one of the best dribblers around today. Japan have everything needed to be a serious threat this summer, a win or even a draw here would be a real statement.Team newsNoni Madueke picked up and injury in the draw with Uruguay, while Arsenal appear to have recalled Rice and Bukayo Saka for ‘medical assessments.’ We’re sure that has nothing to do with the Premier League title race.Adam Wharton, John Stones, Fikayo Tomori, Aaron Ramsdale and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have all returned to their respective clubs too, but it’s not all bad news.Dean Henderson, Nico O’Reilly, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guéhi, Dan Burn, Anderson, Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane have all joined up with the squad after watching the game on Friday from the stands. Either way, Tuchel has plenty of options.Japan don’t really have anything to worry about in terms of squad selection. The only issue is Takehiro Tomiyasu had expected to join up with the squad for this game, but he has since been forced to withdraw and remain with Ajax due to injury.PredictionThere are quite a few England players that need to take this game by the scruff of the neck. Japan aren’t an easy opposition, but we’re going with a 2-0 win for Tuchel’s side.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every England game with FotMob – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.