England have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after beating Latvia 5-0 at the Daugava Stadium in Riga on Tuesday.
With two qualifying games left to play and a perfect record of six wins from six, the Three Lions are now guaranteed top spot in Group K ahead of Albania, Serbia, Latvia, and Andorra.
Dominant Three Lions secure clinical victory
Against Latvia, Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon opened the scoring for the visitors.
Harry Kane, who has been in fine form at Bayern Munich, then scored a brace to give England a 3-0 lead at the halftime whistle.
In the second half, the Three Lions extended their advantage through an own goal by Maksims Toņiševs before Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze scored the fifth with four minutes to spare.
Speaking to ITV after the game, England head coach Thomas Tuchel praised his team’s desire, saying: “We’re dominant in games, we’re hungry. We invest against the ball, we get a lot of ball wins in the opposing half.
“For our last goal, Harry Kane goes all the way back into his own half after a mistake from his team-mate and helps to make the goal for Ebs. We’re happy, we’re on our way.
“It’s a club feel because we play very aggressive with a high press. It’s very physical so it’s very demanding, but everyone has to buy into the idea because otherwise you cannot press high.
“It’s a very good group and a pleasure to coach them.”
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German Tuchel enjoys lively British humour
After last week’s friendly win over Wales at Wembley, Tuchel had urged the England fans to be more lively and stand behind their players.
In response, the travelling fans in Latvia chanted “Thomas Tuchel, we’ll sing when we want” and “Thomas Tuchel, are we loud enough for you?”.
The German, who previously took in a trophy-laden spell at Chelsea, offered a lighthearted reaction to the situation.
“I got a bit of stick in the first half, so fair enough. I take it in good humour, with a good sense of humour. I accept it,” he said.
“They had a reason from my last comments and I guess that’s fair enough.
“I found it quite creative. It made me smile and this is how it has to be. It’s British humour and I surely can take it. No harm done.”
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‘We want to make them proud’
On the importance of England fans getting behind their team as the 2026 World Cup nears, Tuchel added: “It’s so important. They are here and I said the support in Serbia was brilliant.
“The support was brilliant and we are very sure the support in America will be absolutely brilliant. We need it.
“It makes such a difference if you go out as a player or as a coach and you see the fans behind the team and singing. This is also part of what we do.
“We want to make them proud, we want to make them happy. They should be happy to watch us and they should be able to identify with how we play.
“We are on our way to building something and top performance from them.”
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