Thomas Tuchel is 2/2 on England’s bench! The rivals were nowhere near as challenging as they could have been, but victories are the only thing that counts. Three days ago, Albania were brushed aside, and tonight Latvia fell at Wembley – 3-0.Considering the Three Lions’ dominance, the triumph should have been much more convincing, but the visitors defended as hard as possible, trying not to suffer a catastrophe. In the end, Reece James’ first-half free-kick screamer and (the inevitable) Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze’s goals sealed the deal, bringing England their second win in as many matches in the qualifiers as well as the top of Group K.A night of firsts at Wembley ☝️Reece James and Eberechi Eze both score their first goals for @England in a 3-0 win over Latvia 🦁 pic.twitter.com/Z76JtbH0A8— Premier League (@premierleague) March 24, 2025 Despite England’s pure domination throughout the entire match, Latvia wasted the first chance in the game – and their only at the same time – when their striker Vladislavs Gutkovskis failed to exploit Marc Guehi and Jordan Pickford’s misunderstanding, missing the empty net.North America will see Wood and Co: All Whites qualify for the World CupThe Three Lions attacked continually, practically all the time, while the situation where as many as ten Latvians defended from their own box was a frequent sight at Wembley tonight. Yet, after Ezri Konsa and Harry Kane wasted opportunities, Tuchel’s team finally broke the deadlock seven minutes before the break behind Reece James’s free-kick banger, that being his first national team goal.After the break, the German gave Eberechi Eze and Phil Foden a chance, but his team just couldn’t find a way to score the second and secure the three points. At the same time, the Latvians didn’t give up on defending, as if they had already accepted the defeat and wanted it to be as “light” as possible.Finally, the skipper Kane removed all doubts by scoring in the 68th minute to Declan Rice’s assist, while Eze netted the third – and his maiden – goal for England eight minutes later after a skillful solo effortThe Three Lions finished this opening set of World Cup qualifying games with a double victory and sitting in the top of the group, which was probably the goal before the campaign started. In June, England will face arguably the weakest team in the group, Andorra, in another must-win match.2026 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS – EUROPEMondayLithuania – Finland 2-2 (1-2)/Kucys 39, Gineitis 69 – Kairinen 4, Pohjanpalo 17 pen/Albania – Andorra 3-0 (2-0)/Manaj 9, 19, Uzuni 90+2/B&H – Cyprus 2-1 (1-1)/Demirovic 22, Hajradinovic 57 – Pittas 45+2/England – Latvia 3-0 (1-0)/James 38, Kane 68, Eze 76/Poland – Malta 2-0 (1-0)/Swiderski 27, 51/San Marino – Romania 1-5 (0-2)/Zannoni 67 – Cevoli 6 og, Popescu 44, Marin R. 55 pen, Hagi 75 pen, Alibec 90+5/Tuesday20:00: (2.20) Moldova (3.15) Estonia (3.60)22:45: (50.0) Gibraltar (15.0) Czech R. (1.03)22:45: (5.60) Israel (3.70) Norway (1.65)22:45: (8.50) Liechtenstein (4.50) Kazakhstan (1.40)22:45: (3.05) Macedonia (3.25) Wales (2.40)22:45: (1.48) Montenegro (4.10) Faroe I. (7.50)***odds are subject to change***
