The Thomas Tuchel England era continues tonight at Wembley as the Three Lions take on Latvia for the very first time in a World Cup qualifier.
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Scorers: James 38′, Kane 68′, Eze 76′
As anticipated, England dominated the ball in the opening periods but had little in the way off chances with the Latvians defending very deep and in numbers.
Marcus Rashford, looking to impress after a mixed showing against Albania, whipped a ball in from the left just after 15 minutes, leading to both Morgan Rogers and Jarrod Bowen having half shots.
Almost directly after, a mix up between Marc Guéhi and Jordan Pickford led to Vladislavs Gutkovskis being presented with a golden opportunity to give his country a shock lead. However, he could only hit the side netting from a narrow angle.
Ezri Konsa thought he had given England the lead in the 21st minute, but Latvia keeper Krisjanis Zviedris did brilliantly to deny him from close range.
Zviedris made a mess of dealing with Rashford’s cross just before the half hour mark, and was fortunate VAR did not deem his soft challenge on Bowen anything more than that.
Having failed to break through from open play, England took the lead from a free kick. Reece James stepped up and curled home a stunning effort that left Zviedris motionless. It was his first goal for his country on his first start in over two years.
We’re all watching this on repeat, right? 🔁pic.twitter.com/3oa5QboVp1
— England (@England) March 24, 2025
The second half continued in similar fashion, with most of the play taking place in front of banks of Latvian players. There was little in the way of chances, leading to Tuchel replacing Bowen with Eberechi Eze.
With little over 20 minutes, Harry Kane sealed the win with his 71st international goal, and maybe his easiest. Just as he did against Albania, Declan Rice assisted the captain, playing the ball across the box from the right for a tap in finish.
Eze then made it three shortly after with a brilliant goal, dribbling in from the left and scoring his first goal for his country with the aid of a deflection.
More to follow…
📸 Mike Hewitt – 2025 Getty Images
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