Thomas Tuchel defends England reliance on Harry Kane after Japan loss: Why would Argentina not rely on Lionel Messi?

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England suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Japan on Tuesday in their final Wembley outing before Thomas Tuchel names his 26-man squad for this summer's World Cup. Harry Kane missed out due to a knock sustained in training, and The Three Lions were flat in his absence, mustering just two shots on target as Phil Foden struggled in the false nine role. Tuchel sees no reason not to rely on Kane.

Tuchel insists Kane is irreplaceable after shock England loss to Japan

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Thomas Tuchel has defended England's over-reliance on Harry Kane, comparing it to Lionel Messi's importance to Argentina and the enduring influence Cristiano Ronaldo has on Portugal's fortunes, after watching his side beaten 1-0 at home by Japan.

Kane was absent for the international friendly as The Three Lions limped to a disappointing defeat in their final home game before this summer's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Nursing a minor injury, the Bayern Munich striker watched on from the stands at Wembley as a precaution, unable to add to his tally of 78 goals from 112 caps for his country.

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It meant the starting XI named by Tuchel only boasted 12 goals at international level between them, and that was evident during an insipid first half in which England failed to register a shot on target.

Despite Tuchel making wholesale changes and a marginal improvement from the hosts during the second period, a first defeat to an Asian opponent could not be avoided, having been unbeaten in 10 previous matches.

When asked during an interview with ITV if the result had highlighted England's reliance on Kane, Tuchel began a prickly response by countering: "Why would Argentina not rely on [Lionel] Messi or Portugal not rely on [Cristiano] Ronaldo?

"Of course it’s painful. It hurts always to lose. I think we got punished for not a lot, for one counter-attack. But we need these matches.

Phil Foden was deployed as a false number nine

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"We need to put it into perspective. It’s not the end of the world. It’s never nice and we don’t like it. It’s not a question of false nine or normal nine, it’s a matter of performing.

"We can do better, but it’s a well-drilled team that we played against and we had a new formation, new players.

"Key figures left camp and we saw that a bit. We lacked a punch, maybe in both matches. Today in the first half, we played way too narrow. Second half, we had more width, we were more dynamic on the wings, using the full-backs more, we took more risks and we made more chances but couldn’t convert."

When later asked again about England's over-reliance on Kane, Tuchel added: "In the absence, we don't have the same threat? Bayern Munich don't and no team in the world would. It is normal. Teams rely on top players, so it is normal.

‘Total belief’ – Tuchel full of confidence in England squad

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"Harry dropped out so we lost him not just as a player but as a personality. We lost Bukayo [Saka], Noni [Madueke], Declan Rice and John Stones. They are the core and drive of this group.

"It affected us, this is normal. We can win without Harry, we will win without Harry and we have. It is just easier [with him]. I'm not looking for a second Harry Kane. There is no second Harry Kane."

Guehi: It's not easy putting the shirt on

For some, this was a final opportunity to convince Tuchel that they should be part of his plans this summer, when 26 players will be named in his final squad.

There are very few chances left to gain favour, with the pre-World Cup friendlies against New Zealand and Costa Rica in Florida in June coming after the German has announced his travelling party.

Defender Marc Guehi called for unity in his post-match interview with ITV, but admitted: "It's not easy putting the shirt on. You play against teams that are well drilled and disciplined.

"They qualified for the World Cup as well and they want to prove a point when they come here. I will reiterate, it is important that we stick together, learn from this moment and move forward."

When asked if the loss to Japan - coming four days after the 1-1 draw with Uruguay - was further evidence of the shirt weighing heavily on certain players, Tuchel replied: "No. I don't think so. I don't want to engage in this conversation because I think it is clear what we want to do and how we want to play.

"We want to focus on the principles and how we play more than what it means.

Tuchel cuts a frustrated figure during Tuesday's loss to Japan

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"It comes with pressure, it comes with noise playing for England, that is just how it is. We need to see how the players adapt to that and we can only see it if we try it, so we tried it. We have to learn from it."

This unsatisfactory send-off leaves more questions than answers. The slight injury to Kane announced prior to kick-off afforded Tuchel the opportunity to experiment with the use of a false nine.

Phil Foden was deployed centrally with a licence to roam either side of the drifting runs from Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer.

In practice, the quartet only appeared to get in each other's way, narrowing the space and suffocated by a lack of focal point.

It was only after the introduction of Harry Maguire and Dan Burn that England looked a threat from set-pieces, while Japan had other opportunities to add to Kaoru Mitoma's winning goal on 23 minutes.

England laboured in trying to create clear-cut chances at Wembley

Image credit: Getty Images

Tuchel: This camp will not define us

Those who were left inside Wembley at the final whistle booed England off the pitch, but Tuchel was reluctant to place too much significance on the underwhelming results during this camp.

Speaking at his press conference, the German added: "It is what it is. We got punished for not a lot against Uruguay, and today was one counter-attack.

"We knew that before, I knew that before. I am disappointed, but it is important to put it into perspective.

"Our players are heavily invested in club and European football. We played against two well-drilled teams, very good opponents.

"We had a big change in the middle of camp and suddenly had seven or eight who had to leave. It's not an excuse, it's an explanation why it is not perfectly smooth.

"We made life difficult for ourselves as we made it narrow for ourselves and didn't use the full-backs.

"We couldn't score when the chances were there but it is important to learn from it. This camp will not define us."

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