Latvia 0 – 5 England

England reached their eighth successive World Cup at a canter as Thomas Tuchel’s improving side thrashed Latvia 5-0 in Riga to become the first European team to qualify, with two games to spare.

The Three Lions made light work of their Baltic opponents in their first-ever meeting and for the third game in a row were 3-0 up at half-time with one eye on next summer’s finals in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

The irrepressible Harry Kane played a large part in their half-time dominance thanks to a quick-fire double, first curling home from the edge of the box before adding a penalty he won himself with help from a VAR review for his 76th international goal.

Again, England enjoyed near-total dominance and found none of the same difficulty in some of Tuchel’s earlier games to break down defensive opponents, and even had the ball in the net inside the first minute through Kane before an offside flag against Bukayo Saka cut short their celebrations.

England remained patient where they may have once lost concentration and took advantage of a rare Latvia attack to spring their opener on the counter, with John Stones’ ball into the channel inviting Anthony Gordon to use his pace to cut inside and bend in a fine strike for his second international goal.

As Latvia spent most of the rest of the half proving increasingly stubborn the travelling support instead began to playfully goad Tuchel after his criticism of England’s home support against Wales with chants including “Tuchel, give us a song!” and “1-0 to the library”.

“I got some stick in the first half, fair enough and well done,” Tuchel later told ITV. “It was a good sense of humour. It was brilliant support from start to finish.”

The attention of those supporters turned back to the pitch moments before the interval when Kane, who had already missed two previous presentable chances, buried the hardest of the three on his left foot with a textbook placed finish from 20 yards.

That was only part of a collapse labelled “madness” by Sky Sports’ Roy Keane at half-time, aimed largely at a mindless shirt pull on Kane in the Latvia box seconds before the break which was always likely to be picked up by VAR. The skipper duly netted his 24th England penalty from 28 attempts to put England out of sight.

With keeping focus England’s toughest opponent after the break Ezri Konsa was caught flat-footed by Vladislavs Gutkovskis but recovered superbly to deny the hosts’ top goalscorer with a magnificent sliding challenge as he shaped to shoot.

It was soon back to business as usual as an inviting Djed Spence cross was flapped at by Krisjanis Zviedris and unwittingly turned into his own net by Maksims Tonisevs, before substitute Eberechi Eze gave Tuchel a reminder of his quality with a late fifth from Jarrod Bowen’s ball.

Analysis: England make all the right noises – but still early days

Sky Sports’ Ron Walker:

“This has been the best of England’s four camps under Thomas Tuchel. After a shaky start, unconvincing performances against international minnows and an embarrassing home defeat to Senegal in June, albeit a post-season friendly, things finally clicked against Serbia at the end of the last international break and the Three Lions have not looked back.

“Tuchel came in for some early stick but even a year before England’s run to the World Cup semi-finals in Gareth Southgate’s debut tournament, the Three Lions were still far from the finished article so the same patience should be afforded to his successor.

“Where England became frustrated and dropped their intensity against Andorra in Tuchel’s first qualifier, now they keep up their high press right until the final whistle, as in the build-up to Eberechi Eze’s goal inside the last five minutes on Tuesday night. It’s easy to see the progression.

“That said, England have played only one side ranked inside FIFA’s top 40 under this manager and more tests must come before next summer’s tournament. But when they do, the Three Lions can now draw upon the underlying cohesion and organisation befitting the ‘club mentality’ Tuchel has wanted to create.”

Delighted Tuchel: We’re dominant, we’re aggressive

England head coach Thomas Tuchel on ITV:

“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.”

Double goalscorer Kane: I’m in form of my life

England captain Harry Kane on ITV when asked if he’s in his best ever form:

“I’d say so, the numbers are there but the way I’m feeling on the pitch, the way I’m seeing passes, the runs, physically I’m in a good place.

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

The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place in Washington on December 5.

President Trump will join FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the John F Kennedy Center – a performing arts venue where Trump is chairman – to decide the group stage fixtures.

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

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

The 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup takes place from June 11 to July 19, 2026.

It will be the 23rd edition of the tournament.