England 3-0 Latvia: Tuchel´s perfect start continues with comfortable win

England eased to a 3-0 win over Latvia in their second World Cup qualifier, making it two wins from two for Thomas Tuchel.

Reece James and Eberechi Eze both scored their first international goals, with Harry Kane also hitting the back of the net in a routine victory.

Despite a dominant start, England almost found themselves behind. A mix-up between Jordan Pickford and Marc Guehi while dealing with a long ball opened space for Vladislavs Gutkovskis, who rushed his shot, hitting the side netting of an empty goal.

Ezri Konsa then saw a poked shot excellently tipped onto the roof of the net by Krisjanis Zviedris, but the goalkeeper was helpless to deal with England’s opener.

James stepped up to a free-kick 25 yards from goal and bent a stunning effort around the outside of the wall and into the top-right corner, with Zviedris rooted to his spot.

England maintained the pressure in the second half, with Kane drilling narrowly wide shortly after the break before doubling their lead in the 68th minute. The hosts worked it neatly down the right before the captain was teed up for a close-range tap-in by Declan Rice.

Eze rounded things off in the 75th minute with a superb solo effort. He drove down the left before cutting inside and twisting up two Latvia defenders before his curling shot deflected over the line off the back of Antonijs Cernomordijs’ legs.

Morgan Rogers chased a goal to mark his full debut late on, bending one effort wide shortly after Eze’s goal before forcing Zviedris into a fine save from the edge of the box. Kane also came close to adding some gloss to the scoreline, but the goalkeeper parried away his late curler.

” dir=”ltr” lang=”en” p=””>Three goals and three points for the #ThreeLions

A solid start to our @FIFAWorldCup qualifying campaign under Thomas Tuchel. pic.twitter.com/YqgoHlNzFr

— England (@England) March 24, 2025

Data Debrief: Off the mark

Tuchel could not have asked for more from his first two games in charge as England have comfortably dealt with their opponents, keeping two clean sheets along the way.

James impressed on his return to the England line-up. Making his first start for the team since September 2022, he scored the first direct free-kick goal at Wembley Stadium since John Barnes in April 1993 (v Netherlands).

Kane is also finding some joy under his former club manager, scoring his 71st goal for his country. He has now scored 17 goals in his last 17 international appearances at Wembley.

The Three Lions, who managed 27 shots against Latvia worth 3.53 expected goals (xG), sit top of Group K after two games, maintaining their perfect start.