Reece James, Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze fired England to a 3-0 win over Latvia at Wembley in their second 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
James curled England ahead from a 38th-minute free-kick for his first senior goal in an England shirt, after Myles Lewis-Skelly had been fouled 30 yards from goal.
Kane added England’s second from close range in the 68th minute before Eze wrapped up victory with a stunning 76th-minute strike to mark his first senior goal for the Three Lions, albeit via Antonijs Cernomordijs’ deflection.
England remain top of Qualifying Group K with six points ahead of Albania who leapfrogged Latvia into second, following a 3-0 victory at home to bottom-placed Andorra.
Speaking to ITV post-match, Eze was pleased with England’s “strong performance” and is glad to finally net his first senior goal for the Three Lions.
“It was a strong performance from us. It was important to win.
“I always want to impact the game whenever I play. Today it has come off, it is good to contribute.”
James added that manager – Thomas Tuchel has a “clear” plan as he iterated that the team have one target which is the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“Thomas Tuchel’s ideas are clear. We have one objective and that starts this week right up until the World Cup.”
Amidst changes made following a lacklustre opening win over Albania, England once again lacked a cutting edge despite their dominance against Latvia who had opted for a deep defensive block.
Jarrod Bowen was the first England player to eventually go close as he flicked Marcus Rashford’s 15th-minute cross wide of the right corner, before he then put another shot wide just three minutes later.
England however received a defensive scare just seconds after Bowen’s second miss as Jordan Pickford and Marc Guehi experienced a mix-up at the back, which allowed Vladislavs Gutkovskis to intercept but he fired wide much to Guehi and Pickford’s relief.
Jude Bellingham was the next go closest for England as his header from a 21st-minute corner was deflected to Ezri Konsa, who saw his shot deflected over by Krisjanis Zviedris, before Bellingham nodded over from the subsequent corner.
Zviedris nearly conceded a 27th-minute after he tamely cleared Morgan Rogers’ header but clattered into Bowen on a follow-up dive, but referee – Orel Grinfeeld and Video Assistant Referee (VAR) ruled his collision an accident rather than a penalty to England.
Lewis-Skelly eventually set up England’s breakthrough goal after he drew a 37th-minute foul, from which James on his first start since September 2022 calmly curled the free-kick into the top-right corner to put the hosts ahead.
England pushed for a second goal but nearly gifted Latvia a 43rd minute equaliser on the counter-attack, but Alvis Jaunzems’s shot was saved by Pickford, as the Three Lions clung on to their slender lead into half-time.
The second half continued in the same vein as the first half with England on top minus that clinical final touch, although Lewis-Skelly did nearly create their second goal with a 63rd minute pass which Bellingham flicked on forward, but Kane could only curl his shot wide of the left corner.
England eventually settled the home crowd’s nerves five minutes later after Rashford broke up the right flank and teed up Morgan Rogers to feed Rice, who had overlapped and was able to cut back for Kane to smash in from close range.
Latvia attempted to reduce their deficit with a couple of blocked shots but were ultimately denied in the 76th minute, as substitute, Phil Foden fed Eze to cut in from the left and curl in via a deflection from Cernomordijs to put the game beyond the visitors’ reach and wrap up victory.
“Happy with the attitude, energy and desire”
Tuchel post-match in an interview with ITV described the game as “not an easy” battle but praised his players for producing positive things, as he iterated that the team will eventually unlock their potential.
“We saw a lot of good things, created good chances. We needed a free-kick to unlock it. I’m happy with the attitude, energy and desire. We will get there.”
Tuchel went on to address the tempo change from a fast first half to a slower second half as he explained that he wanted his players to accelerate more in their attacks.
“The second half we started to slow the game down and made little movement, which makes no sense. But the second goal was better as we showed acceleration from one of our sixes.
“We encourage everyone to have these late accelerations but we struggled a bit until the goal.”
What’s Next?
England’s next qualifier come away from home as they head to Andorra on Saturday 7 June at 5pm UK Time, before hosting Senegal at the City Ground, Nottingham, in a friendly on Tuesday 10 June at 7:45pm BST.
Latvia will too be in action on the above dates as they first host Azerbaijan in a friendly on 7 June, before hosting Albania in their next World Cup qualifier on 10 June.
Teams
England: Jordan Pickford, Reece James, Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, Myles Lewis-Skelly (Walker 79′), Jude Bellingham (Foden 67′), Declan Rice (J.Henderson 79′), Jarrod Bowen (Eze 61′), Morgan Rogers, Marcus Rashford (Jones 79′), Harry Kane
Substitutes: Dan Burn, Eberechi Eze, Phil Foden, Morgan Gibbs-White, Dean Henderson, Jordan Henderson, Curtis Jones, Jarrell Quansah, Levi Colwill, Dominic Solanke, James Trafford, Kyle Walker
Latvia: Krisjanis Zviedris, Roberts Savalnieks (Jagodinskis 54′), Raivis Jurkovskis (Daskevics 61′), Antonijs Cernomordijs, Daniels Balodis (Sliede 83′), Andrejs Ciganiks, Alvis Jaunzems, Aleksejs Saveljievs, Dmitrijs Zelenkovs, Janis Ikaunieks (Melniks 83′), Vladislavs Gutkovskis (Sits 61′)
Substitutes: Eduards Daskevics, Vjaceslavs Isajevs, Vitalijs Jagodinskis, Raimonds Krollis, Rihards Matrevics, Deniss Melniks, Roberts Ozols, Niks Sliede, Maksims Tonisevs, Lukass Vapne, Dario Sits
