Lee Dixon blasts Chelsea star Cole Palmer as England suffer historic defeat to Japan | Football
Lee Dixon took aim at Cole Palmer after Japan’s breakthrough in a historic 1-0 victory over England, criticising the attacker for ‘putting on the brakes’ instead of tracking goalscorer Kaoru Mitoma.
England will have wanted to silence their doubters with a resurgent performance on the back of an uninspiring 1-1 draw with Uruguay on Friday night.
But it was more of the same from the Three Lions in another limp and rudderless display on Tuesday evening, with Mitoma’s 23-minute strike proving the difference at Wembley.
The hosts, who were without their captain Harry Kane, offered very little in pursuit of an equaliser in front of an increasingly agitated crowd, leaving Thomas Tuchel with plenty of questions to ponder just 70 days out from the World Cup.
The loss to Japan represents the final match before Tuchel names his World Cup squad at the end of May, meaning opportunities to impress are fast running out for those players on the periphery.
History was made on the night as Japan became the first-ever Asian team to get the better of England. It was also the first time that Tuchel had been beaten at Wembley as manager of the national team.
England now have just two more warm-up matches – against New Zealand and Costa Rica in June – before attentions turn to this summer’s eagerly anticipated tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Your football fix
Metro‘s Head of Sport James Goldman delivers punchy analysis, transfer talk and his take on the week’s biggest stories direct to your inbox every week.
Sign up here, it’s an open goal.
Palmer was robbed of possession deep inside Japan’s half for the decisive goal and it was Brighton’s Mitoma who both started and finished off a slick counter-attacking move for the visitors, with Keito Nakamura providing a pinpoint assist from the left.
‘Cole Palmer is going to lose the ball because he takes chances… not enough tonight,’ ex-Arsenal and England defender Dixon said on ITV’s commentary of the match.
‘But when he loses it in midfield, he’s got another job and that’s the chase back.
‘He gets level with Mitoma, more or less, and then just puts the brakes on and lets Mitoma run away from him into the space.
‘The pull back is perfect and it’s a really, really good breakaway goal for Japan.’
Dixon was also less than impressed by Phil Foden’s display, with the Manchester City star leading the line for England as a false nine in the absence of skipper Kane.
‘I think Tuchel likes Nico O’Reilly, he’ll be on the plane,’ Dixon said before picking out England’s most disappointing performances.
‘The rest of them… I don’t know what to say, Palmer has not really done enough tonight, Phil Foden, again, the same.
‘They haven’t got many games left to experiment with, have we? This is the last one before the warm-up games just before the World Cup and the squad being announced.
‘It’s not worked [Foden as the false nine], there’s not doubt about that, so whether he preservers with it in his mind, that might be the case in the event that Harry Kane gets an injury.
‘But certainly, I don’t think there’s enough in there that you go, “Do you know what? Let’s have a go at that”.’
England’s stand-in captain, Marc Guehi, reassured fans that the squad would use the setback to learn and ‘improve’ in order to be ready for World Cup.
‘Obviously it was disappointing but we have to be realistic,’ the Manchester City defender told ITV Sport shortly after the final whistle.
‘This is why we play these games at this time in the season, we need these tests as a team.
‘If we have the right perspective then these games help us to build, to be better, to improve, and to go into the next stage, which is the World Cup, and to be ready.’
Asked what was missing in England’s showing, Guehi replied: ‘Obviously a goal!
‘We have to be critical of ourselves but again these are the tests that we need.
‘It is important to have these games to see where we are at, but it is all about perspective, making sure we learn and we stick together.
‘It is easy to look at this one game, especially after the campaign that we’ve had, it’s been positive, so it’s important that we stick together and get better.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
MORE: Ian Wright highlights ‘massive problem’ for England and one player who ‘stood out’ in Japan defeat
MORE: Arsenal fans beg Mikel Arteta to ‘free’ Myles Lewis-Skelly after superb England U21 performance
MORE: Sam Allardyce urges Man Utd star to reject England call-up for the World Cup
Lee Dixon blasts Chelsea star Cole Palmer as England suffer historic defeat to Japan | Football
#Lee #Dixon #blasts #Chelsea #star #Cole #Palmer #England #suffer #historic #defeat #Japan #Football
