England have qualified for the 2026 World Cup after a 5-0 drubbing of Latvia. Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions faced Paolo Nicolato’s 11 Vilki on Tuesday evening at the Daugava Stadium in Riga, wasting very little time in making a mark.
England looked up for the occasion from the outset, with Harry Kane having a goal ruled out for being offside just 50 seconds into the clash. It didn’t take the nation long to officially take the lead, however, with Anthony Gordon opening the scoring in the 26th minute. John Stones sent a stunning ball over the top of the Latvian defence from deep, with the Newcastle United winger picking it up on the left flank.
From there, he cut inside the box onto his right foot, before curling the ball past Krishanis Zviedris and into the bottom right corner before wheeling off in celebration. Kane finally got a goal of his own 44 minutes into the match, picking up the ball on the edge of the area before converting with finesse with his left foot.
The England captain then doubled his tally during first-half stoppage time. Antonijs Cernomordijs was deemed to have pulled Kane’s shirt in the Latvian box during a corner, as the Three Lions were awarded a spot kick as a result.
The Bayern Munich talisman then stepped up with a hop, skip and a jump, before coolly placing it into the bottom left corner to take the lead to 3-0 with a full 45 minutes left for England to extend their lead further. Substitute Maximis Tonisevs then gave the visitors a fourth 58 minutes into the match, sending the ball spiralling into the back of his own net while trying to clear an inviting cross from Djed Spence.
Eberechi Eze then rounded off a convincing victory in the 86th minute when Jarrod Bowen played him through down the left-hand side, as he cut in onto his favoured right foot and placed the ball with precision. As a result of their victory in Riga, England sit comfortably at the top of the Group K standings with 18 points, with two games to spare – and the pressure will certainly be off when Tuchel deploys his side against Serbia and Albania during November’s international break.
It comes as a number of England fans were quick to make their voices heard during the fixture, off the back of Tuchel’s recent criticism that the nation was ‘silent’ at Wembley during their 3-0 demolition of Wales last week. As a result, the support was in full force in Riga on Tuesday evening, as England fans were heard chanting: “Thomas Tuchel, we’ll sing when we want,” and “Thomas Tuchel, are we loud enough for you?”
Things also took an X-rated turn when some fans were heard rining out a chorus of: “Our support is f****** s***,” with a touch of sarcasm.