England vs Japan: International friendly preview, predictions and bet builder tips
Ladbrokes previews England's final game before the 2026 World Cup, a friendly at Wembley against Japan.
England are predicted to win the match, with several key players returning after the draw against Uruguay.
Japan are dealing with injuries to several key players at the moment, so we're tipping England to win without conceding.
Ladbrokes brings you an in-depth match preview for England vs Japan including predictions, lineups and expert bet builder tips.
This is actually the last friendly of the final international break for this summer's World Cup, giving Thomas Tuchel the opportunity to try out his preferred starting XI one last time before taking his side to America.
After a draw in their last match, Ladbrokes is tipping a win for the Three Lions on Tuesday in its England vs Japan bet builder.
England vs Japan match details
Fixture: England vs Japan
Competition: International friendly
Date: Tuesday, 31 March, 2026
Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Venue: Wembley Stadium
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England vs Japan
Our prediction: England 2-0 Japan
England vs Japan predicted lineups
England
Our predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Pickford / White, Konsa, Guehi, O'Reilly / Mainoo, Anderson / Palmer, Rogers, Gordon / Kane
Japan
Our predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Suzuki / Taniguchi, Watanabe, Ito / Sugawara, Sano, Kamada, Mitoma / Doan, Maeda, Ueda
England vs Japan bet builder tips
England to win
This is England's last opportunity to cement themselves as World Cup favourites before this summer's tournament, and that fact won't be lost on Tuchel.
The German will want to line up his England side in the strongest fashion possible, so expect many of those who will start in America to be used from the off against Japan on March 31.
Despite Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka both being ruled out through injury, we expect England to have too much quality for their Japanese opposition this week. As such, the first leg of our England vs Japan bet builder sees a tip of a Three Lions win.
Anthony Gordon to have at least one shot on target
Marcus Rashford was probably England's best player against Uruguay last week, so no one will be more up for this game against Japan than Anthony Gordon, the man competing with the Barcelona attacker for a spot on the left-wing ahead of this summer's tournament in America.
Gordon has started 23 Premier League games this season, averaging 0.8 shots on target per game. We expect him, in a more ball dominant side, to see a lot of the ball against Japan, getting a shot on target in the game.
Over 1.5 goals to be scored
We're predicting that England walk away with a win at Wembley on Tuesday night, doing so in a game that sees two or more goals scored.
All of England's last eight matches have seen two or more goals scored, and with Japan missing several key players such as Wataru Endo and Takumi Minamino, we can see the Three Lions running away with this one.
Not only do we think England have enough to emerge victorious, but we expect it to be relatively easy too, which explains our over 1.5 goals to be scored tip as the penultimate leg of our England vs Japan bet builder.
Daichi Kamada to be carded
Starting for England in midfield is expected to be Elliot Anderson, and one thing that tends to happen whenever the Nottingham Forest midfielder plays, is that he's almost always fouled heavily.
Anderson has been fouled more than twice a game on average in the Premier League this season, and he's coming up against Daichi Kamada, who commits over a foul a game on average.
Admittedly, Kamada has only picked up two yellow cards across his 17 Premier League starts this season, but with Manuel Ugarte being carded whilst playing in midfield against England last week, we think this one could come in too.
You can bet on each of these markets individually, or combine them to create an England vs Japan bet builder, priced at just shy of 15/1.
With Bet Builder+, you can combine your bet with selections not only with other international friendly matches, but also with different sports.
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Ladbrokes also has a more in-depth article explaining our predictions for England's line-up against Japan this week.
We've also published a preview for all of the World Cup playoff finals taking place this week, with Italy fighting for their spot.
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All odds and market details are accurate as of the time of publication.
