Latvia 0 – 5 England

England qualified for the World Cup finals for the eighth time in a row after coach Thomas Tuchel’s improved side beat Latvia 5-0 in Riga to become the first European team to qualify with two matches remaining.

The Three Lions pulled no punches against their Baltic rivals in their first ever meeting and, for the third match in a row, led 3-0 at half-time, with their eye on next summer’s finals in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

The irrepressible Harry Kane played a big part in their dominance in the first half thanks to a quick brace, first scoring from the edge of the box before adding a self-earned VAR-assisted penalty for his 76th international goal.

Once again, England enjoyed almost complete control and did not find it as difficult in some of Tuchel’s previous matches to break down defensive opponents, even scoring the ball home in the first minute through Kane before an offside flag against Bukayo Saka interrupted their celebrations.

England maintained their patience where they may have once lost their concentration and took advantage of a rare Latvian attack to open the match on the counter-attack, John Stones’ ball inside the net prompting Anthony Gordon to use his speed to cut in and bend in a brilliant shot for his second international goal.

While Latvia spent much of the rest of the half proving increasingly stubborn, the traveling fans instead began playfully provoking Tuchel after he criticized his support for England at home against Wales with chants including “Tuchel, give us a song!” and “1-0 to the library.”

“I had some support in the first half, which was fair enough and a good performance,” Tuchel said later. ITV. “He had a good sense of humor. He was great support from start to finish.”

Those fans’ attention returned to the pitch moments before half-time when Kane, who had already squandered two previous chances, buried the toughest of the three chances with his left foot with a perfect shot from 20 yards.

That was only part of the collapse, which he described as “insanity.” Sky Sports Roy Keane in the first half, largely targeting a stray shirt pull on Keane in the Latvia penalty area seconds before half-time which was always likely to be picked up by VAR. The skipper scored England’s 24th penalty kick from 28 attempts to put England at bay.

Maintaining focus, England’s strongest challenger after the break for Ezri Konsa was flat-footed by Vladislavs Gutkovskis, but he recovered superbly to deny the home side’s top scorer with a superb slide as he prepared to shoot.

Things quickly returned to normal when Krisjanis Zvidris sent in a brilliant cross for Jed Spence and it was inadvertently slotted into his own net by Maxime Tonisevs, before substitute Eberechi gave Eze Tuchel a reminder of his talent by scoring a late fifth goal from Jarrod Bowen’s cross.

Analysis: England are making all the right noises, but it’s still early days

Sky Sports Ron Walker:

“This has been the best camp of England’s four under Thomas Tuchel. After a shaky start, unconvincing performances against smaller international sides and an embarrassing home defeat to Senegal in June, despite it being a post-season friendly, things finally turned around against Serbia at the end of the recent international break and the Three Lions have not looked back.

“Tuchel came in some time early, but even a year before England reached the World Cup semi-finals in Gareth Southgate’s first tournament, the Three Lions were still far from finished, so his successor will have to be just as patient.

“While England were frustrated and downplayed by Andorra in Tuchel’s first qualifier, they now continue their high pressure until the final whistle, as they did in the build-up to Ebereche Eze’s goal in the final five minutes on Tuesday night. It’s easy to see the progress.

“However, England have played just one team ranked in the FIFA top 40 under this manager, and more testing will need to be done before next summer’s tournament. But when that happens, the Three Lions can now benefit from the fundamental cohesion and organization that befits the ‘club mentality’ that Tuchel wanted to create.”

Tuchel is happy: We are dominant, we are aggressive

England Head coach Thomas Tuchel on ITV:

“We dominate the matches, we are hungry. We invest against the ball, and we get a lot of balls into the opponent’s half.

“For our last goal, Harry Kane returned to his own half after a mistake by his teammate, and helped set up the goal for Epps. We are happy, we are on our way.”

“It’s a club feel because we play very hard with high pressing, it’s very physical so it requires a lot of effort but everyone has to accept the idea because otherwise you can’t press high. It’s a very good group and it’s a pleasure to coach them.”

Double scorer Kane: I’m in the best shape of my life

England captain Harry Kane on ITV When asked if he was at his best ever:

“I would say that, the numbers are there but the way I feel on the pitch, the way I see the passes, the running, I’m in a good place physically.

“I’m in a good moment and may it last a long time.”

The draw for the 2026 World Cup is scheduled to be drawn in Washington on December 5th.

President Trump will join FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the John F. Kennedy Center — a performing arts venue where Trump chairs — to decide the group stage matches.

Announcing the lottery venue at the White House in August, Trump said the World Cup was “the biggest event in sports,” while Infantino declared the 104 games would be like “104 Super Bowls.”

The draw will take place from 12pm local time (5pm UK time).

The 2026 Men’s World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19, 2026.

It will be the 23rd edition of the tournament.