It was the night when England confirmed the inevitable. Thomas Tuchel and his players are going to the World Cup finals tournament next summer as the winners of qualifying Group K, their progress serene, their record – with two ties still to tick off next month – without blemish.
The serious business awaits, the only frisson of jeopardy here provided by the England fans, who sought to make a few points to Tuchel during the first half after his criticism of the Wembley crowd in the 3-0 friendly victory against Wales last Thursday. He had complained about them being too quiet.
It was another commanding performance from Tuchel’s team, albeit against lowly opposition who seemed to appreciate that they had zero chance. Anthony Gordon opened the scoring then Harry Kane added two more before the interval to take his England tally to 76.
It was only ever going to be a question of how many. And whether England could record their sixth clean sheet in six qualifying victories. They could, which meant a ninth in succession for the goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford; an extension of his England record. Once again, he had precious little thrown at him.
England’s fourth goal dribbled in apologetically off Maksims Tonisevs, on as a Latvia substitute, while another replacement, Eberechi Eze, added the fifth. England can only beat what is in front of them. They have done so. With increasing assurance.
There was a back‑to‑the‑future kind of vibe, the tiny stadium a real throwback. It was not so much the running track that kept the fans well back from the pitch, rather the fact that only the lower tier of the main stand had a roof. Then there were the tall trees that lined one side of the ground; no seats over there.
The scene was truly set by what the travelling England support sang in the opening minutes. “Thomas Tuchel, we’ll sing when we want.” Then: “Are we loud enough for you?” And: “Our support is fucking shit.” Was it good‑natured? Yes and no. There had been one or two boos when Tuchel’s name was read out.
Tuchel went strong with his lineup, the only surprise being the omission of Marc Guéhi, who the manager said was rested after the player’s recent workload. Ezri Konsa partnered John Stones in the centre of defence, with Myles Lewis‑Skelly brought back in at left-back.
England were confronted by the familiar sight of an opponent in a 5‑4‑1 shape. It was a slow-burning start. Kane had the ball in the net only for an offside flag to go up against Bukayo Saka in the buildup, while the captain wasted a clear chance after a give-and-go with Gordon.
The sideshow of the England fans versus Tuchel vied for prominence. “Tuchel, Tuchel, give us a song.” Which led to a wave from him. Then: “Where were you when we were shit?” Tuchel says he loves the English sense of humour.
Where Latvia went wrong was trying to launch an attack. Up until the 26th minute, they had been extremely compact. But when they ventured forward and gave up possession, Stones launched a long ball back and Gordon had a one‑on‑one against the right wing‑back, Raivis Jurkovskis; some room in which to work.
Gordon had already shown he had the pace to go around Jurkovskis. Now, he cut inside and shaped a lovely curler into the far corner. Gordon shimmered with menace while the England support kept coming with the one-liners. “It’s all gone quiet over here.” And: “Tuchel’s right, the fans are shite.”
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Kane dragged the attention back to the pitch. How he executed the second goal was breathtaking. It was a chance out of not very much on the edge of the box. A quick backlift, a rasping low drive, Krisjanis Zviedris given no chance.
Kane would work the goalkeeper with a downwards header and he had his second before half-time when Antonijs Cernomordijs was too hands‑on with him on a corner, the penalty given after a nudge from the video assistant referee. Kane hammered it into the bottom corner.
There were 2,456 England supporters in attendance and some of them did not return to their seats for the second half. They had no cover as the rain lashed down, limited public transport options back into town because of the 9.45pm local time kick-off and the job was surely done. What must Tuchel have made of that?
Latvia, ranked 137 in the world, only managed a home draw against Andorra on Saturday. They have won just two qualifiers in two years – against the Faroe Islands and Andorra. They were never going to do anything here. Could they at least nick a goal? Konsa showed England’s determination to preserve the clean sheet on 55 minutes when he raced back to challenge Vladislavs Gutkovskis on an isolated Latvia counter.
The own goal followed a Djed Spence cross and a touch by Zviedris that took the ball on to Tonisevs while Eze’s finish was clinical. The occasion finished with the England fans who stayed asking Tuchel for a song. He waved at them and applauded.
