England booked their place in an eighth consecutive FIFA World Cup finals after easing to a routine 5-0 win over Latvia in Riga, maintaining their 100% record after six qualifiers.
Thomas Tuchel made two changes to the side that defeated Wales five days ago, reintroducing captain Harry Kane and bringing in Myles Lewis-Skelly. Kane was immediately involved, having an early goal ruled out for offside before firing wide from an Anthony Gordon delivery. The Three Lions showed their intent from the whistle, eager to secure their flight to North America quickly.
It was only a matter of time before England found the breakthrough, and Anthony Gordon duly obliged. Latching onto John Stones’ long ball forward, Gordon cut inside from the left and unleashed an unstoppable strike past Krišjānis Zviedris. England were cruising towards another comfortable win when Kane rifled home a superb left-footed finish from distance, before converting from the penalty spot in the last kick of the half to give his side a commanding lead.
Latvia caused a brief moment of concern after the restart when Vladislavs Gutkovskis bore down on goal, but Ezri Konsa was on hand to make a perfectly-timed sliding challenge. Unsurprisingly, the next goal scored was an England one, though it came in largely fortuitous circumstances. Djed Spence played a cross in from the right-hand side, and Andrejs Cigaņiks inadvertently turned the ball into his own net at the far post.
Despite the seemingly futile task ahead of them, Latvia remained undeterred, forcing a largely inactive Jordan Pickford into action through chances created by Maksims Toņiševs and Eduards Dašķevičs. There was still time for substitute Eberechi Eze to add a fifth with a well-taken finish, completing a fine night’s work.
Ultimately, this was as straightforward a win as England could have hoped for in a qualifying campaign where they have never been truly tested, boasting 17 goals scored and none conceded in six qualifiers. Attention now shifts to the finals, where it remains to be seen if Tuchel can lift the Three Lions’ perennial underachievers tag next summer and end almost 60 years of hurt for the men’s team.
