England sealed their spot at the 2026 World Cup with a comfortable 5-0 win against Latvia in Riga. Thomas Tuchel’s side have won all six of their qualifiers in the group, opening up a seven-point gap over second-placed Albania with two games left to play.

It was a dominant England performance from start to finish. Harry Kane scored twice, while Anthony Gordon shone and opened the scoring. England fans chanted about Tuchel’s criticism of the Wembley atmosphere against Wales last week, but he applauded them at the end and they cheered his name.

Jack Pitt-Brooke in Riga and Rob Tanner break down the key talking points.

England fans bite back… and win Tuchel praise

This was a happy evening for the England fans, many of whom will now be thinking about their plans for next summer — but it was also a night when it was impossible to avoid the vocal chants from the travelling fans directed at Tuchel.

“Thomas Tuchel, we’ll sing when we want”, went one. “Are we loud enough for you?” was another. After Gordon’s opener, it was “1-0 to the library” and “it’s all gone quiet over here”.

It is the first time this year that the England crowd has directed any sense of dissatisfaction or protest towards Tuchel.

It often sounded light-hearted, and the England head coach clearly found it amusing, but the criticism was a reminder that even a perfect qualification record will not necessarily be enough to keep the fans happy. The question is whether this was just a jokey one-off or whether it will become a running issue through the November break.

Tuchel’s applause of the fans towards the end of the game suggests his treatment did not bother him, and speaking in his post-match press conference he went even further.

“They had a reason (to criticise) today from my last comments and I guess that’s fair enough. I got a bit of stick and I found it quite creative. It made me smile and this is how it has to be. It’s British humour and I surely can take it. No harm done.

“It’s so important. They are here and I said the support in Serbia was brilliant. The support today was brilliant and we are very sure the support in America will be absolutely brilliant. We need it. It makes such a difference if you go out as a player or as a coach and you see the fans behind the team and singing. This is also part of what we do. We want to make them proud, we want to make them happy. They should be happy to watch us and they should be able to identify with how we play. We are on our way to build something and top performance from them today.”

Jack Pitt-Brooke

Thomas Tuchel applauds England’s fans (Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Anthony Gordon stakes his claim

When the England team to take on Latvia was announced and Gordon was selected on the left wing ahead of Marcus Rashford, some eyebrows were raised. 

Rashford has been in decent form at Barcelona. Gordon and Newcastle have made a modest start. The winger is yet to score in the Premier League, thanks in part to a red card against Liverpool, but he certainly took his chance in Riga.

Gordon’s energy with and without the ball stood out, particularly in the first half. He looked dangerous when he was direct, running at the Latvia defence and forcing them onto the back foot. He also took his goal superbly to show that he is more than an adequate rival to Rashford.

Eberechi Eze came on late on and produced a great finish of his own, while Jarrod Bowen was his usual industrious self.

Selecting his wide players could be a headache for Tuchel but what a wonderful problem to have.

Rob Tanner

Harry Kane still England’s Mr Dependable

Of all the attacking talents at his disposal, the one Tuchel and England simply can’t do without next summer is their skipper.

Kane took his tally under Tuchel to seven goals in seven games, increasing his total as the nation’s all-time greatest goalscorer to 76 from 110 caps.

At 32, Kane is enjoying some of the best form of his life, with 18 goals in 10 appearances for Bayern Munich this season.

He has become so reliable for club and country that his ability to score is almost becoming normal, rather than astonishing. It can easily be taken for granted. He hardly gets spoken about these days, with the media focusing on other debates surrounding the squad. He played the full 90 minutes, even though the game was won by half-time, suggesting Tuchel has no doubts Kane will be his leading man at the World Cup.

If England are to succeed next summer, Tuchel will have to hope Kane’s incredible form is sustainable.

Rob Tanner

What next for England?

Thursday, November 13: Serbia (home), World Cup qualifying Group K, 7.45pm UK, 2.45pm ET