ENGLAND 3-0 LATVIA: Goals from Reece James, Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze gave Thomas Tuchel another comfortable victory in his second match in charge - but it was hardly a classic
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Thomas Tuchel was animated on the sidelines during England's win over Latvia
Thomas Tuchel was animated on the sidelines during England's win over Latvia
(Image: The FA via Getty Images)
Wembley was half empty at the final whistle after a dull, uninspiring win.
England fans had seen enough of an all too familiar story which was neither particularly exciting or entertaining. Well, what do you expect against the 140th best team in the world according to the FIFA rankings? A bit more sparkle than this.
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Welcome to the England job, Thomas Tuchel. Even when you win, you are on a hiding to nothing in these sort of David v Goliath encounters. England have not lost a World Cup qualifier since they suffered defeat in Ukraine in October 2009. Their unbeaten run now stretches back 33 games. But you get little credit even when you win.
Tuchel talked before the game about the need to keep up standards - and that was the problem. For long periods of this game, they fell well below. It was sloppy, scrappy and they struggled to find a way past Latvia’s plucky defence and even Reece James ’ wonderful first-half free-kick failed to open the floodgates.
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Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze got late goals to put a shine on the victory the performance hardly deserved. In fairness, the crowd remained patient and there were not too many paper aeroplanes thrown in disgust. They just headed for the exits as the clock ticked down to avoid the rush for the trains.
Who can blame them really? It was not hugely inspiring. Tuchel paced the technical area for long periods looking increasingly frustrated at the match unfolding in front of him. Jude Bellingham was lucky not to get sent off for a second yellow card when you could see that he was getting increasingly wound up.
Marc Guehi was given a start after being surprisingly left out against Albania but did not really seize the opportunity as he slipped, had a mix-up and maybe he was guilty of trying too hard. It was one of those nights where we learned very little other than England - ranked the fourth best team in the world - should wipe the floor with opponents like this.
And when they don’t, we all begin to wonder why. There is 16 months to go before the World Cup, England will cruise through this group but Tuchel knows he must find improvements and a settled first choice XI and formation. This was not it.
Reece James curls in a free-kick to put England ahead against Latvia
Reece James curls in a free-kick to put England ahead(Image: Getty Images)
They were sloppy from the start and James - despite his goal - was very unconvincing. James, making his first start since September 2022, was lucky to escape a booking for a brutal foul on Andrejs Ciganiks .
England got themselves into a terrible mess when a mix-up between Jordan Pickford and Guehi let in Vladislavs Gutkovskis but the Latvia striker put the ball into the side-netting with an open goal in front of him. What a let-off. Latvia keeper Krisjanis Zviedris made a heroic save from Ezri Konsa. But it was all too sloppy. The crowd was getting restless. And it felt like a very familiar Wembley story of England struggling to break down one of the minnows.
But just when England needed a bit of extra class - they found it from an unlikely source. James stepped up to take a free-kick from 25 yards. It was a beauty, curled into the top corner. You could almost see Bellingham get wound up to a point you thought he would boil over. Bellingham, booked towards the end of the first half, should have got a second yellow for a foul on Raivis Jurkovskis. It was a clear booking but he escaped and got hooked soon after.
Harry Kane scores England's second goal against Latvia
Harry Kane finishes a simple tap-in to double England's lead
England got a second when Declan Rice ’s low cross was put in by Kane for his 71st England goal after 68 minutes. Substitute Eze then made a storming run and his shot was deflected to round it off.
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