England's World Cup hopefuls did little to convince Thomas Tuchel of their worth when he names his squad in barely two months' time as another experimental line-up was booed off following a 1-0 defeat to Japan at Wembley.
By the time the Three Lions next take the field against New Zealand on June 6, Tuchel will have already announced his initial squad. A second performance lacking rhythm both as a unit and individually inside four days offered little optimism of the quality outside of his first XI.
A first ever loss to Japan in a friendly does not mean much on its own but the Three Lions' performance certainly returned more questions than answers. The home fans who remained at Wembley to boo their side off were left frustrated by a missed opportunity to build both momentum and optimism ahead of the World Cup.
The Three Lions managed just three shots on target across the entire match while looking susceptible defensively throughout. Kaoru Mitoma's 23rd-minute winner was Japan's first chance of the match after an early spell of England dominance, but as the hosts toiled in front of goal the visitors grew in confidence and missed several chances to extend their lead on the break.
Though Tuchel's experimental line-up can go some way to explaining England's lack of cohesion as a whole, few beyond Elliot Anderson impressed individually either and, ironically, those with the most to prove to their manager were among the ones who showed him the least.
Ben White, a surprise late call-up to this squad, was caught out of position by Keito Nakamura to feed Mitoma for the winner. Phil Foden, who Tuchel had previously talked up as an option as a False 9, was wholly ineffective in the makeshift role and had the fewest touches of any England starter before he was withdrawn on the hour.
Foden has rarely performed on the international stage but the same cannot be said of Cole Palmer, though his Chelsea form carried over into an England shirt - he gave the ball away cheaply ahead of Mitoma's goal and created fewer chances than Jarrod Bowen, the man who replaced him for the final 30 minutes.
"I'm not the biggest person to talk about individuals, but if we put offensive players on the pitch, we demand offensive actions, creativity, dribbling, shots and assists and we clearly didn't have enough," was Tuchel's sharp assessment when asked about the pair's performance.
Substitute Lewis Hall went closest to giving the 80,000-strong home support something to cheer about in the final minutes with a well-struck near-post effort. But it said plenty about the lack of England spark that Zion Suzuki's comfortable save was one of the best moments for the lacklustre hosts, who cannot be surprised by the loud jeers from the stands as they left the pitch.
England boss Thomas Tuchel:
"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 suddently had seven or eight who had to leave. It's not an excuse, it's an explanation why it is not perfectly smooth. We couldn't score when the chances were there but it is important to learn from it. This camp will not define us."
England defender Marc Guehi speaking to ITV:
"It's obviously disappointing but we have to be realistic. This is why we play these games towards 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."
The friendly against Japan marked the final chance for Tuchel to look at his players on the international stage before he he must submit his final 26-man World Cup squad on May 30.
England then have World Cup warm-up matches with New Zealand and Costa Rica, before their tournament opener against Croatia on June 17.
