Reece James made a goalscoring return to the England starting lineup under Thomas Tuchel and produced an outstanding free-kick to hand the Three Lions the lead at Wembley
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Updated 20:58, 24 Mar 2025
Reece James celebrates his goal
Reece James celebrates his goal(Image: GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Reece James was lauded by England fans on his return to the Three Lions side after scoring an outstanding free-kick against Latvia. The full-back was making first start in three years in Thomas Tuchel's second match in charge of the national side.
Chelsea captain James, who won the Champions League under Tuchel's management in west London, was one of four changes made to the England XI, as the German coach assessed his options in the team's second match of World Cup qualifying. James certainly attempted to take advantage of his opportunity.
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England slogged away against Latvia at Wembley in the opening half before James was able to offer a moment of quality. The likes of Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Jude Bellingham failed to make the telling contribution in the first 45 minutes before the 25-year-old was able to produce his moment of magic.
From almost 30 yards out, James produced a curling effort that glanced in off the post. Opposition goalkeeper Krisjanis Zviedris was left helpless such was the quality of the strike.
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And James was quick to receive adoration from supporters and team-mates alike. The England star offered little celebration as Declan Rice beamed alongside the Chelsea academy product.
Blues team-mate Romeo Lavia offered a ice cold emoji on social media immediately following the goal. The midfielder was not alone in being impressed by the strike.
" Reece James, that’s incredible!" said one fan on X. "Top bins from Reece James," added another.
"Reece James. Class is permanent," offered another supporter. "That's worthy of winning the World Cup," said one profile.
"Better than Beckham’s that," said a further user. "Bend it like james," suggested another. Some were simply left amused by James' reaction. "Stunning lack of celebration from Reece James there. We love to see it," said another account.
Tuchel said after calling James into his squad, that the right-back would need to prove himself capable of operating on the flank following his injury issues.
Reece James scored an impressive free-kick
Reece James scored an impressive free-kick(Image: Robin Jones/Getty Images)
"I know Reece," he said. "In calling him up now, we made sure before we called him up that he was constantly available in training, that he was constantly available to be picked for matches - so that when he’s not picked for matches, it’s not because of injury, it’s just a choice of the club to maybe protect him a little bit. This was the basis for the nomination.
"I still feel he is a player for the full-back and wing-back positions, I think we have enough players in central midfield who are more specialists there…
Tuchel added: "We need to see if he can do this. He needs to prove the point, to be honest, he needs to prove that he can do it.
"I’m aware he was exposed to less high-intensity work because he played a different role, he started playing in a back three, so with the ball they were building a back three with him which he did also for me at Chelsea.
"In Copenhagen he played in midfield so you are not exposed to high-intensity runs but the history and the numbers recently tell is it is possible so it’s on him to prove the point."
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