Sunday’s briefing: Scotland suffer Japan defeat while Maguire gets reality check

Scotland stepped up their preparations for the World Cup with defeat against Japan in a friendly.

Thomas Tuchel’s England will face Japan on Tuesday, and the German dealt a blow to Harry Maguire’s hopes of making the final World Cup squad.

Derby day in the Women’s Super League saw victories for Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool.

Boos for Scotland in Japan loss

Junya Ito’s late goal gave Japan a 1-0 win over Scotland in Steve Clarke’s side’s first 2026 World Cup warm-up game.

Clarke’s players left the Hampden Park pitch to euphoric scenes in November after their dramatic 4-2 win over Denmark qualified them for the finals in North America but their return to the national stadium was a much more sedate event.

Both sides hit the goal frame in the first half but Hajime Moriyasu’s side created more opportunities after the break and substitute Ito shot past keeper Angus Gunn in the 84th minute to break the deadlock and leave Scotland winless in four meetings against Japan.

Clarke revealed his surprise and disappointment after hearing some boos from the Tartan Army, saying: “It’s just the modern way, it seems to be now if you lose a game you get booed. You have just got to deal with it. It disappoints me.”

Harry Maguire down pecking order – Thomas Tuchel

England boss Tuchel has appeared to deliver a big blow to Maguire’s World Cup chances by insisting he is still at least the fifth-choice centre-back.

Maguire looked to have strengthened his case for being on the plane to North America in the summer as he delivered a commanding performance on his return to the national team set-up in Friday’s 1-1 friendly draw with Uruguay.

“I got exactly what I thought, solid, solid central defender play,” said Tuchel. “That’s what he does. Very good on the ball, very calm, strong in the air and (as a) weapon for set-pieces.

“I haven’t changed my mind but I see other players I like to start for us, I see other players ahead with a different profile.

“I see Ezri Konsa ahead, I see Marc Guehi ahead. It’s no secret. I see Trevoh Chalobah on the level of mobility was slightly ahead of him. Also John Stones, but he had injuries, so he needed to come to camp.”

City dominate derby

Vivianne Miedema scored twice as Manchester City took another step towards the WSL title with a dominant 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The Netherlands striker bagged a three-minute brace inside the opening 20 minutes before Kerstin Casparij swept in a third early at the start of the second half.

Alessia Russo’s first Arsenal hat-trick propelled the Gunners to a 5-2 north London derby victory over Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium as they moved up to second place.

The England striker opened the scoring with a fifth-minute header and completed her hat-trick less than 22 minutes later.

Ceri Holland’s brace helped 10-woman Liverpool claim Merseyside bragging rights with a 3-2 win over Everton.

Sean Dyche laughs off Spurs talk

Sean Dyche has quashed rumours he is in talks with Tottenham but described the relegation-threatened team as a “brilliant club” amid speculation over Igor Tudor’s position.

Spurs are without a fixture until April 12 but a run of five defeats in seven matches under interim head coach Tudor has placed his job at threat.

Tudor is currently dealing with the death of his father Mario but Dyche has been named by bookmakers as one of the leading contenders to take over if Tottenham were to make a change, and the appearance of the former Burnley boss in a London pub on Friday sparked interest on social media.

However, during an appearance on talkSPORT, Dyche said while laughing: “Ah, it’s brilliant, honestly.

“I was in the pub just up the way near my place, I’ve got down here and this guy goes, ‘ah, you’re meant to be in talks with Spurs tonight?’ And I say, ‘I’m sat next to you having a pint of Guinness, so it’s unlikely – unless you work for Spurs!’”

What’s on today?

Chelsea can climb to second in the Women’s Super League table behind Manchester City with victory over Aston Villa while West Ham face London City Lionesses and Leicester play Brighton.