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“We tried to build a football team in three days against Uruguay,” Thomas Tuchel says, unable to stop laughing at the end of the sentence. Ridiculous, the England head coach wants to add, although he stops short of that. But incredulity is the theme as he rows back over the past international camp, when best-laid plans fell apart and he came to feel boxed in by circumstances beyond his control.

This is the way Tuchel wants to frame it, the way he tends to want to frame it when things go wrong. Which is certainly what happened in the 1-1 draw against Uruguay at Wembley last Friday and the 1-0 defeat against Japan on Tuesday, also at the national stadium. It is preferable to the alternative reading.

That Tuchel’s approach to a difficult window was flawed, inviting trouble. That the breeze through World Cup qualification has not properly prepared him and the squad for the tougher opponents – say, those ranked in Fifa’s top 20. That he cannot find the answer to the greatest threat to England’s hopes – player fatigue.

It was easy to see the parallels to Tuchel’s first bad camp, the one last June when the team grubbed to a 1-0 win against Andorra in Barcelona before losing 3-1 against Senegal in Nottingham – and not only because of the historic nature of the defeats. Never before had an African nation beaten England. Never before had Japan beaten England.

The June window was awkwardly placed a week or so after the end of the domestic season, meaning the players in effect had to clock back on. Nine of the squad that Tuchel selected then had to go to the Club World Cup in the US. There was a lack of jeopardy because Andorra was, well, Andorra and the Senegal game was a friendly. There were the usual injuries and withdrawals. Note the word – usual. Above all, there were tired legs after a gruelling season.

Tuchel did nothing to hide his fear that this past camp might prove too much for his players at a pivotal stage of the club season. It was why he hatched the plan to work with a 24-man squad for the Uruguay game and add 11 more established players for Japan, subtracting eight or so. Uruguay would essentially be an audition for those on the fringes.

Tuchel is acutely aware of the minutes his players have played this season. The buzz phrase was load management. The lack of jeopardy was also a part of it given both matches were friendlies. Had they been competitive ties, Tuchel’s touch would not have been so light. He wanted clarity, common sense and when he explained everything, it was easy to nod along with the logic. The reality was different.

Uruguay was flat, confused, ridiculous, because Tuchel had four training sessions across three days last week, starting on Tuesday, to shape a completely new team to take on streetwise opposition. He can say it now. He was on a hiding to nothing. Thereafter, he was dealt a number of further blows.

The loss of John Stones before the Uruguay game to yet another fitness niggle was bitterly frustrating. Ditto Reece James’s injury before Tuchel named his squad. Jude Bellingham joined up but it was immediately clear that he was in no condition to play. Then Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka pulled out for Japan. Then Jordan Henderson. Then Harry Kane.

Tuchel’s leaders were pretty much all missing and it showed. The performance was wishy-washy; some neat touches and moves, no punch in open play. Throw in a failed new formation and you had the full house. Against Andorra in June, Tuchel had tried a 3-1-5-1 to get through a low defensive block. With minimal success.

Against Japan, it was 4-2-4 with Cole Palmer and Phil Foden as twin No 10s. England were blunt and it is possible to worry whether Foden, in particular, will make the World Cup. “I’m responsible for changing the structure because I wanted to get us a bit more security,” Tuchel says. “I take responsibility for that.”

Did anybody press their claims across the two games? James Garner was decent. And Harry Maguire had good moments, although Tuchel suggested after Uruguay that he remained a good way down the central defensive pecking order. “We have built something in September, October and November and we will rely on that,” Tuchel said after Japan.

The major takeaway was the sense that Tuchel was dealt a poor hand. Which he could only fold and look back at the dealer, a little wearily. Did he see fatigue in the players against Japan? “I see in general, I see … yeah, I see fatigue, clearly,” he says.

The difference to June was Tuchel’s reaction. He laid into the players after the Andorra game, questioning their attitude and body language. After Senegal, he wondered where the energy was and, moreover, the basic joy of wearing the England shirt. He noted how “it meant a lot to Senegal”. He said this again after Japan. It has plainly stayed with him. There was no criticism of the players this time. Only support and understanding. He believes the benefit of not pushing them too hard now will be felt in the summer. Then, nobody will dwell on this broken window.

“We will not start doubting,” Tuchel says. “I knew before how complicated this camp can be because I know the level of fatigue that the players are in, the level of minutes they’ve played. We will not let go of our dream, not let go of the question: ‘Why not?’ I knew we will have a tough exam. Sometimes it is better to have a tough exam than another win and we’re not so 100% sure.”