Tuchel confident England’s 1-0 friendly loss to Japan won’t hurt World Cup chances

LONDON (AP) — Thomas Tuchel insisted England’s dispiriting 1-0 loss to Japan in a friendly on Tuesday will have no bearing on the team’s chances at the upcoming World Cup.

England has lost some of the momentum built up under Tuchel by drawing with Uruguay at Wembley Stadium on Friday and then succumbing to Kaoru Mitoma’s first-half goal for Japan at the same venue four days later.

Tuchel has fielded experimental lineups for both games, with key regulars like captain Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka missing because of minor injuries.

The German coach also said many of his players are “heavily invested” in their club campaigns at this stage of the season.

For that reason, Tuchel felt sure “this camp will not define us.”

“It’s just a reality if teams like Uruguay or Japan come well-drilled, with their top lineup, it’s a difficult task,” Tuchel said.

“It was not necessary to lose the match. Unfortunately, we lost it, which is disappointing, and I hate losing, like no one else, and it will take a while to digest. But it will not affect us massively for when we arrive in the U.S.”

Cole Palmer and Phil Foden are star players in the Premier League but battling to simply make England’s squad for the World Cup, and were given another chance to impress Tuchel after being handed starts against Japan.

They failed to take it, with England especially poor in the first half when the team failed to manage a shot on target for the first time in a friendly match since 2017, according to statistics company Opta.

With Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham other options as attacking midfielders, Palmer and Foden face anxious waits to see if they make the plane for the tournament.

“I’m not the biggest fan of talking about individuals, but, of course if we put offensive players on the pitch, we demand offensive actions, we demand creativity, we demand shots, we demand assists, and we clearly didn’t have enough. We could not create,” said Tuchel, who deployed Foden as a so-called “false nine” in Kane’s absence.

“We made it difficult for us to find them in the half-spaces. We struggled to open up these spaces. We played against the deep 5-4-1. We didn’t use the width of the field enough to make the difference, and our offensive players struggled to make the difference.”

Tuchel accepted that the absence of Kane hurt his team.

“No team in the world has the same threat (without Kane),” he said. “It’s just normal. On top of it, Harry dropped out so we lost not only him as a player, but we lost him as a personality. It’s always a bit disruptive if the captain leaves the last training after 15 minutes and is out of the squad.

“We can win games without Harry,” Tuchel added. “We will win without Harry. We have won without Harry, but it’s easier to win matches with Harry, of course.”

In other friendlies, Euro 2024 champion Spain was held 0-0 by Egypt, and the Netherlands — another title hopeful this summer — drew 1-1 at home to Ecuador after playing most of the game with 10 men after Denzel Dumfries’ 12th-minute red card.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Japan players celebrate after winning the International friendly soccer match between England and Japan in London, Tuesday, March 31, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

England's Phil Foden reacts after his team lost the International friendly soccer match between England and Japan in London, Tuesday, March 31, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

England's Harry Kane reacts after his team lost the International friendly soccer match between England and Japan in London, Tuesday, March 31, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

England's head coach Thomas Tuchel looks on before the start of the International friendly soccer match between England and Japan in London, Tuesday, March 31, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

England's head coach Thomas Tuchel reacts during the International friendly soccer match between England and Japan in London, Tuesday, March 31, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Kennedy Center was running out of options Friday evening to keep President Donald Trump's name on the facade of the iconic performing arts venue.

A judge earlier in the afternoon rejected a request to pause a court-ordered deadline of Friday to remove references to Trump from the building and other aspects of the Kennedy Center's operations. The institution appealed that ruling, an effort that was also rebuffed Friday evening.

Scaffolding was erected earlier in the day around a section of the building that includes Trump's name. After a round of storms passed Friday evening, multiple workers were back at the scene further building out the scaffolding in an apparent effort to prepare for removing the letters referencing the president.

Dozens of people gathered in the plaza in front of the Kennedy Center taking pictures and cheering occasionally as workers built the scaffolding.

After ignoring the Kennedy Center for much of his first term, Trump has wielded tremendous influence over the venue during his return to office. Just a month into his second term, he ousted the center’s previous leadership and replaced it with a board of trustees that named him chairman. Trump's name was quickly added to the building.

In his ruling that only Congress could make changes to the Kennedy Center's name, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper also blocked the administration from closing the cultural and arts venue for major renovations that had been planned to start in July and last for two years.

The Kennedy Center's leadership argued in its appeal Friday that the renovation was badly needed and accused the lower court, in terms that seemed similar to Trump's speech patterns, of interfering in the effort.

“The District Court is not allowing us to close in order to properly fix up and repair the Building, including potentially life threatening structural damage like beams and parking garage ceilings that are rusted, and in serious danger of falling onto people below,” according to the appeal. “Indeed, total collapse!”

Even as the Kennedy Center has fought efforts to remove Trump's name from the building, it has taken steps to comply with Cooper's initial ruling.

A June 4 memo to staff from the Kennedy Center’s Office of General Counsel said email signatures, letterhead and other documents must reflect the name as “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “Kennedy Center.”

The Kennedy Center’s website has dropped Trump's name. And an earlier email sent to members offering ticket packages for the June 28 Mark Twain Award for American Humor ceremony came from the Kennedy Center without including Trump’s name.

Associated Press journalists Anna Johnson, Mark Sherman and Emily Wang in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Workers construct scaffolding at the sign for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Workers erect scaffolding in front of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts sign in Washington, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Workers construct scaffolding below the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts sign Friday, June 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Workers erect scaffolding in front of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts sign in Washington, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

A worker sits on scaffolding at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)