Observable data points shared across all narratives
England coach Thomas Tuchel urged calm after England lost to Japan, saying Harry Kane’s absence and other withdrawals affected the team but were unavoidable. He has accepted that injuries and fitness issues ruled out stars such as Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka and led him to drop eight players before the match. Tuchel stressed he is not disappointed with the players who pulled out and is focused on working with those available.