ENGLAND 3-0 LATVIA: Thomas Tuchel seals another victory as goals from Reece James, Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze help them brush aside their World Cup qualifier opponents at Wembley
Comments
Sport
Updated 21:46, 24 Mar 2025
Eberechi Eze of England celebrates
Eberechi Eze got England's third goal(Image: Robin Jones/Getty Images)
England eased to a comfortable win over Latvia as those auditioning for Thomas Tuchel's favour had a mixed night at Wembley. Reece James, Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze grabbed the goals on another solid but largely underwhelming night which had echoes of Friday's 2-0 win over Albania.
A mix-up between Marc Guehi and Jordan Pickford gave Vladislavs Gutkovskis a brilliant chance to put Latvia 1-0 up, but the striker hit the side-netting with the goal gaping. Ezri Konsa was denied by Krisjanis Zviedris after the ball dropped kindly from a corner before Kane put a header over from James' cross.
Article continues below
Jarrod Bowen was denied a penalty after a lengthy VAR check for a potential foul by Zviedris before James lit the game up with a stunning free-kick into the top corner. Declan Rice's burst forward set up a tap-in for Kane to make it 2-0 before Eze came off the bench to score via a deflection.
England got the job done in the World Cup qualifier, brushing aside their limited opponents, without giving the Wembley crowd much to cheer about. Here are the talking points.
READ MORE: Chelsea consider two Jadon Sancho transfer alternatives as £25m move hangs in balanceREAD MORE: Landmark court case sees provider of illegal Premier League streams jailed for 11 months
1. James back with a bang
Reece James of England celebrates scoring
Reece James curled in a peach of a free-kick to make it 1-0(Image: Michael Regan/The FA via Getty Images)
James' name on the team sheet is sure to have raised the eyebrows of some fans. He only recently returned to full fitness for Chelsea and England are well-stocked at right-back. There might even have been some suggestions of favouritism, given Tuchel's relationship with James when he was in the Stamford Bridge hot seat.
But all of those potential misgivings evaporated as soon as James stepped up to take the free-kick in the 38th minute. The confidence to take control of the situation, on his first England start since September 2022, was impressive, but the strike itself was out of this world, bending perfectly over the wall and into the top corner to earn a David Beckham comparison from Roy Keane on ITV.
His lack of a proper celebration for his first Three Lions goal likely spoke to the frustration James has felt with injuries over the past few years. This was a timely reminder of what he can do.
2. Rashford takes feedback on board
Marcus Rashford of England runs with the ball under pressure from Roberts Savalnieks
Marcus Rashford tried to take Thomas Tuchel's criticism on board(Image: Paul Harding/The FA via Getty Images)
Tuchel didn't mince his words after the win over Albania on Friday. “We hope for more impact in these positions,” he said when asked about wingers Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden. “More dribbling and more aggressive runs towards the box. In general that was missing."
While Foden was dropped for this game, Rashford was given another chance to impress the new England boss - and he set about putting his feedback into action. The on-loan Aston Villa winger saw a lot of the ball in the first half and he put his head down, ran at his man and put crosses into the box at every opportunity. The quality wasn't always there, but the sight of an England player running with the ball and trying to make something happen against a deep-set defence was refreshing, although Eze's goal underlined his lack of impact.
3. Tuchel right to demand more
Thomas Tuchel, Head Coach of England
Thomas Tuchel was animated on the sidelines(Image: Eddie Keogh/The FA via Getty Images)
"I hope [the fans] see an attacking team, I hope they see a team with freedom and hopefully we can show our quality," Tuchel told ITV before kick-off. Delivering that was never likely to be easy against such a limited team, who were always going to sit deep and try to soak up pressure, but there was still not much for the Wembley crowd to get excited about.
So often the quality from wide areas - where the space was - was sorely lacking, and the finishing wasn't much better. Kane and Jude Bellingham both spurned presentable chances from headers in the first half and Latvia did well to throw bodies in front of other attempts.
Tuchel doesn't have long to implement his ideas ahead of the 2026 World Cup. We saw his 3-2-4-1 formation in the build-up, with Myles Lewis-Skelly moving inside alongside Declan Rice in possession, but there is still lots to work on.
4. Rogers' strengths not played to
Morgan Rogers
Morgan Rogers struggled to make an impact
This was a huge opportunity for Morgan Rogers, who started alongside his childhood friend Bellingham in attacking midfield for England. Rogers has 12 goals and seven assists for Aston Villa this season and was more than deserving of a start. It's just a shame that the game he was given didn't suit his strengths.
Anyone that has watched Villa this season will know that Rogers is at his best driving forward with the ball on the counter-attack - a situation which Unai Emery's system creates frequently, but that doesn't manifest itself much in international football. Latvia packed the central areas with bodies, funnelling England wide, away from Rogers, who was earning just his fourth cap. When it did open up for him, in the 77th minute, he fired wide, while the goalkeeper tipped over another effort late on.
5. Konsa cements his place
Ezri Konsa
Ezri Konsa looked solid again(Image: Kevin Hodgson/Getty Images)
It's hard to take too much from the performances of defenders in a game of this nature. But this was undoubtedly a good night for Konsa, who twice came close to scoring from set pieces and avoided the clumsy error that befell his centre-back partner Guehi.
The Aston Villa man appeared way down the pecking order not long ago, but has timed his form well to coincide with the arrival of Tuchel and, two solid performances later, looks a good bet to continue in the starting line-up.
Join our new WhatsApp communityand receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.