Reece James’ stunning free-kick put England on course for victory against Latvia at Wembley Stadium, before second-half goals from captain Harry Kane and substitute Eberechi Eze completed a 3-0 victory that keeps the _Three Lions_ at the top of their 2026 World Cup qualifying group
Tuchel made chances to his starting lineup after calling out underperformers following Friday’s 2-0 win over Albania, but just as they did in that game, the _Three Lions_ failed to truly impress despite picking up another three points in Group K of the World Cup qualifiers.
England are next in action on 7 June when they take on Andorra, with that match set to be staged at RCD Espanyol’s Estadi Cornellà-El Prat in Barcelona. A friendly against Senegal at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground will follow three days later.
England’s performance against Latvia in the early stages of Monday evening could perhaps best be summed up with one word: frustration. Thomas Tuchel’s side had the lion’s share of possession against an opposition ranked 140th in the world – but creating, and finishing, chances would prove to be difficult.
It looked as though a Morgan Rogers header that was sent wide would come back to bite Monday’s hosts, as Latvia forced the best chance of the opening twenty minutes when a long ball sent Vladislavs Gutkovskis through on goal. Jordan Pickford fumbled his catch, watching on with relief as the forward blazed his strike into the side netting under pressure from Marc Guéhi.
It served as a wake-up call for the _Three Lions_, who felt they should have been awarded a penalty just seconds later though when Roberts Savalnieks felled Marcus Rashford inside the box, though Orel Grinfeeld opted not to award a spot-kick. Still, the chances kept coming for Tuchel’s men, who were left dumbfounded when Ezri Konsa saw a thunderous attempt from close range flicked onto the roof of the net by Latvia’s shotstopper, Krisjanis Zviedris.
Another penalty appeal was waved away by Monday’s Israeli referee shortly following a lengthy VAR check just before the half-hour mark, when Rashford’s teasing delivery in from the left for Jude Bellingham was spilled by Zviedris, with Jarrod Bowen clattered in the aftermath.
But England would eventually force the opener against stubborn opposition in the 38th minute through a moment of brilliance from Reece James, called into the starting lineup for the first time in over two years. The Chelsea full-back’s free-kick from just outside the box was whipped around the Latvian wall, sneaking in at the near post to give the _Three Lions_ the lead at the interval.
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Despite a frustrating start to the second half, in which an already-carded Bellingham was perhaps lucky to remain on the pitch after lashing out at Raivis Jurkovsis, England did manage to double their lead with just over 20 minutes left to play. Rogers, played in on the right flank, was able to cut the ball back for Rice, whose pass along the face of goal was tapped home by Harry Kane at the far post for his second goal of the international break.
The third came not much later in the form of a deflected strike from substitute Eberechi Eze, who broke free on the left before elegantly dancing into the box and curling home at the near post, thanks in part to a hefty inadvertent touch from Latvia’s Antonijs Cernomordijs.
But despite leading by three goals, you can always tell when a Wembley crowd is getting tired of a lacklustre performance when the Mexican Waves start making their way around the 90,000-seater bowl – and they were in full force much earlier than they were against Albania.
While England have now picked up two wins from two under Tuchel, another stale encounter at Wembley left England fans wanting more, as evidenced by the torrent of fans making an early getaway. The 51-year-old now has a little over two months to prepare for the next bout of international fixtures, in which England will take on Andorra and Senegal.
**ENG:** Pickford; Lewis-Skelly, Guéhi, Konsa, James; Rice, Bellingham; Rashford, Rogers, Bowen; Kane
**LVA:** Zviedris; Ciganiks, Balodis, Cernomordijs, Jurkovskis, Savalnieks; Ikaunieks, Zelenkovs, Saveljevs, Jaunzems; Gutkovskis