**_KEIR RADNEDGE at WEMBLEY_**: Back again and progress of a sort. For the second time in four days the satisfied focus of English football was on the national team, new manager Thomas Tuchel and an anticipated further step towards next year’s World Cup finals on strikes from Reece James and Harry Kane plus an own goal.
Yet Tuchel’s strategy was baffling. He made four changes, sprinkled evenly between defence, midfield and attack to trump the 2-0 victory over Albania. But the 4-2-3-1 which worked promisingly last Friday had been tweaked into a 4-3-3 redolent of Gareth Southgate’s more unhappier days with Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice and Morgan Rogers cluttering up the midfield.
Coincidentally tbe introduction of Rogers meant three Aston Villa men starting for England for the first time since 2009.
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Latvia, limited but willing (to be generous), confronted England for the first time with their intentions demonstrated plainly by five men across the back and four in midfield. Even so, England made hard work of vindicating the 136-place chasm between the teams in the FIFA World Ranking.
Tuchel’s reformed line-up did create early half-chances for Bellingham, Rogers and Jarrod Bowen, before Ezri Konsa had a shot brilliantly saved by keeper Krisjanis Zviedris and Kane headed over the bar.
Inbetween they were fortunate after confusion between Jordan Pickford and Marc Guehi saw Vladislavs Gutkovskis shoot hastily into the side net.
England finally broke through in the 37th minute with Chelsea captain James curling a right-foot free kick out over the defensive wall and then back inside the goalkeeper’s left-hand post.
A flurry of paper aeroplanes indicated some fans’ opinion of the first half performance and Tuchel was plainly not pleased himself. Hence a change of formation after the break with Rashford joining Kane as a second centre-forward and Bowen crossing to the left.
Bellingham, booked in the first half, was lucky to escape a second yellow after going through the back of Raivis Jurkovskis. Tuchel duly had no option but to replace him with Phil Foden in what proved an immediate precursor to England’s second goal in the 65th minute. Their neatest move of the match involving Rashford, Rogers and Rice down the right opened the way for captain Kane to tap in at the far post.
Ten more minutes and England extended their lead. Foden fed Eberechi Eze, on for Bowen, to trick a route in from the left and score via a deflection off Latvia captain Antoinijs Cernomordijs.
Enough was enough thus swathes of empty red seats saw the teams play out the usual substitutes-packed finale.
**The teams**
_England_: Pickford – James, Konsa, Guedi, Lewis-Skelly (Walker 79) – Bellingham (Foden 67), Rice (Henderson 79), Rogers – Bowen (Eze 61), Kane, Rashford (C Jones 79).
_Latvia_: Zviedris – Savalnieks (Jagodinskis 54), Jurkovskis (Dašķevičs 61), Cernomordijs, Balodis (Sliede 83), Ciganiks – Jaunzems, Saveljev Zelenkovs, Ikaunieks (Meļņiks 83) – Gutkovskis (Sits 61).
_Ref_: Grinfeeld (Isr). _Att_: 71,572.
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