England players rated after falling to Japan defeat | OneFootball

‘Oh dear’ – words that most England fans would agree sums up their team’s performance as Japan became the first Asian team to beat them in a men’s senior international fixture.

Kaoru Mitoma slotted the Blue Warriors in front with a tidy first-half finish to punish their sluggish play, with Cole Palmer hitting the bar from range.

Thomas Tuchel’s various substitutions pressed for an equalizer, but without many first team regulars, Harry Kane in particular, his team had little cutting edge – and a subpar defensive display didn’t help matters either.

If this was a chance for England’s fringe players to stake their claim for a spot on this summer’s plane, most failed their final auditions

So on a night where England lost to an Asian side for the first time ever, were there any standout performers?

England player ratings v Japan

Starting XI

Jordan Pickford – 7/10

As always, the Everton No 1 looked rock solid for the national side. Absent a goal which he really couldn’t do much about, he was cool, calm, composed and made a big save in the second half to keep the score at 1-0.

Ben White – 6/10

After a mixed display against Uruguay following years of self-imposed exile, the Arsenal man will be disappointed with his showing last night.

The ex-Brighton defender started well, looking lively on the overlap in the opening 20 minutes and linking up well with Rogers.

But like a silent firework on Bonfire Night, he ultimately fizzled out, and contributed little else before being substituted on 59 minutes.

Ezri Konsa – 6/10

To blame yesterday’’s defeat on Konsa would be harsh, especially given many of the Three Lions defensive woes lay in midfield.

Regardless, the Aston Villa centre back had a few lapses in concentration that would’ve surely been punished against better opposition.

Marc Guehi – 6/10

On a diabolical evening for Thomas Tuchel’s men, Guehi certainly wasn’t one of the worst performers.

Nevertheless, like many of his teammates the former Crystal Palace player was caught out at points, and can count himself lucky that such errors didn’t lead to further humiliation at Wembley.

Nico O’Reilly – 6/10

For all the hype the young Man City fullback has received, last night’s performance was anticlimactic.

The Mancunian is an unbelievable prospect and will probably become one of the world’s best, but against Japan he was invisible going forward and got caught out positionally in the second half.

If the City academy graduate makes the plane in June, he will have to be much better than this.

Kobbie Mainoo – 3/10

Dreadful, just dreadful.

There is simply no other way to describe Mainoo’s efforts after serving up such a dire display.

The Man United Number 8 completely failed to stamp his authority on what was a winnable match for the Three Lions, a fact best demonstrated when he was caught napping for Kouru Mitoma’s winner.

To make matters worse for the 20-year-old, he switched off again in the second half, and can consider himself fortunate that Japan allowed him enough time to clear up.

It took 71 minutes for the Stockport-born hotshot to be hooked for James Garner (more on him later). In reality, it should’ve only been 45.

Elliot Anderson – 7/10

Finally, a decent display!

The highly-rated Nottingham Forest dynamo had all the energy of the Duracell bunny, as he allied a strong defensive display with bags of initiative and industriousness.

Unlike most of his peers he comes out of yesterday’s game with considerable credit, and can surely expect to find himself in North America this summer.

Cole Palmer – 5/10

And back to being negative again.

The Chelsea number 10 was ineffective out wide as he struggled to create chances for his teammates.

More damningly, however, Palmer was at fault for Japan’s goal, with his dithering allowing the East Asians to launch the blistering counter-attack which ultimately sealed England’s fate.

Morgan Rogers – 5/10

Remember what was mentioned earlier about England lacking cutting edge? Well, nobody sums that up better than Rogers.

Unlike Palmer and Mainoo, the Aston Villa starlet survived the full 90 minutes.

Like them, however, he was extremely poor in the final third, with a second-half free kick blasted into the wall and a great chance blazed over the bar late on summing up his night..

Yes, he grew into the match in the last 15 minutes but by then it was too little too late.

Phil Foden – 5/10

Yet another England attacking player who did absolutely nothing.

Time and time again Foden has been tried for England, and time and time again he has failed – with yesterday’s abject showing representing the nadir in a string of poor performances.

If England are to achieve ultimate glory this summer, this is one experiment which has to be scrapped.

Anthony Gordon – 6/10

Playing Gordon – a man hardly known for his goalscoring prowess – up top was always going to be a risk.

And so it proved, with the Liverpudlian nowhere to be seen as he struggled to fill the Harry Kane-sized void in England’s forward line.

Truth be told it isn’t really Gordon’s fault, considering he was playing out of position. But a poor appearance cannot be excused on that basis alone.

Substitutes

Valentino Livramento – 6/10

Like White, who he ultimately replaced, the Newcastle prospect failed to make much impact on the game.

Lewis Hall – 8/10

Despite being on for less than 40 minutes, the highly-rated Newcastle left back put in the best display of the night.

The 21-year-old was a constant thorn in the Samurai Blue’s side as he delivered multiple dangerous balls into the box, and had a fierce effort saved by Zion Suzuki.

Oh how different the scoreline could’ve been if he had started.

Jarrod Bowen – 7/10

Similarly to Hall the West Ham winger put in a strong showing off the bench, creating multiple half chances and having a shot of his own fizz just wide from close range.

Dominic Solanke – 5/10

Despite having more than half an hour to make his mark, the Tottenham striker was missing in action after replacing Foden.

Marcus Rashford – 7/10

Like Bowen the Barcelona star looked a livewire after coming on, and saw a fine attempt of his own denied by Suzuki.

James Garner – 6/10

The rising Everton star did very little from open play, but created several quality chances in the dying embers with some excellent corner deliveries.

Harry Maguire – 7/10

It may seem strange to give a player who appeared for less than ten minutes such a high mark, but Maguire deserves it.

The ex-United captain had a succession of opportunities to salvage an equaliser for the home side, and can count himself unfortunate at being denied by a dogged Japanese defensive effort.

Dan Burn – 6/10

The Geordie ‘BFG’ had little chance to make an impact on the game, and as such cannot be given a proper mark.