England head coach Thomas Tuchel admits it was “beautiful” to see his players celebrate qualifying for next summer’s World Cup.
The Three Lions cruised to a 5-0 win in Latvia, maintaining their excellent qualification record and barely breaking a sweat on a rainy evening in Eastern Europe.
Anthony Gordon opened the scoring for the visitors, before a Harry Kane brace, an own goal and Eberechi Eze strike sealed the deal.
Tuchel shared a moment with his staff at full-time, before congratulating his players on the pitch.
Speaking after the game, he said: “It is never easy, even if it looks easy. We put a lot of work in. They played with a lot of short passes, and we expected more long balls, but the reaction was good.
“Another excellent team performance. It is a special moment – it rarely comes that you qualify for a World Cup.
“The mood is very good and it is all smiles and music. It is a moment to enjoy.
“It means a lot and it is different. You cannot create it artificially. It is beautiful to see what it means to the players. The way we won, first of all, gives us a lot of satisfaction.
“Six wins and six clean sheets. We are there. It is a special evening. You can feel it in the staff and the players.”
Kane keen to build something special
It was another successful night for Kane, who added two more goals to his impressive season tally.
He will lead his country out at another major tournament next summer, and is keen to continue building a special camp as England build up to the tournament.
Having missed out by the thinnest of margins in recent years, the Bayern Munich talisman is keen to right some wrongs next summer.
He said: “It was a great game from us. I spoke before about building momentum. Another great camp – we can be proud to qualify with two games to spare – it’s never as easy as it looks. Another tournament to look forward to.
“After the Serbia game, I spoke to the group about building the momentum that we are feeling together. It is important to keep that ball rolling. There is still two big games in that November camp.
“Every moment counts – it is about building something special. We have been doing that over the last few camps.
“I think America next summer will be special, and we will feel that. Never take these moments for granted.
“Sometimes it sounds like you’re taking a high risk. Sometimes, if you do it early and win the ball back early, you’re the one who has a lot of possession.
“We want to be an aggressive team, and we are going to come up against tougher tests and better teams, so all of this is great practice for when that comes.”
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