The paper aeroplanes were back. As was the Mexican wave. In many ways this was a same-old, same-old Wembley performance from England as they inevitably defeated lowly Latvia. But did they quicken the pulse? Is that even possible – despite what Thomas Tuchel has boldly, confidently declared – in such games?

England’s new head coach has talked the talk. But his team are yet to walk the walk although he will argue, not unreasonably, these are early days and he has had precious little time to impose the identity he rather brutally claimed they lacked in losing the final of the last European Championship under Gareth Southgate.

In goals two and three – after a spectacular 27-yard free-kick from Reece James – there were glimpses of what Tuchel is demanding. For the second, it was a well-worked, quick, aggressive move to finally open up an opposition who sat deep and packed their own penalty area. For the third it was what he has craved – a winger dribbling with the ball with intent and positively taking on defenders.

With that Eberechi Eze, who came on as a second-half substitute for the ineffective Jarrod Bowen, certainly pushed his case while Marcus Rashford created six chances as he switched wings and evidently responded to Tuchel’s demands for more.

Tuchel has delivered home truths and harsh assessments since his appointment but the reality is his England, the England he is demanding of “freedom” and an “attacking team” remains a significant work in progress. A Premier League up-and-at-them style? It sounds good. Although, again, it is almost impossible to impose in such games.

Those aeroplanes and that wave, and lots of empty seats before the end, were often cited as the frustration of fans under Southgate and they were back under Tuchel. Maybe they will always be a feature during what is the phoney war of qualification campaigns that England should and will breeze.

After this fixture, Tuchel has 75 days to prepare for England’s next game – away to Andorra on June 7 in another World Cup qualifier which will, like this one, like Albania last Friday, be another instalment of attack versus defence. Welcome to international football, Thomas. Or at least welcome to what it is like to go through the routine of reaching next year’s tournament where it really begins. It is his job to get England ready.

And so it is two games, two wins, five goals scored and none conceded. You cannot do better than a 100 per cent record even if anything short of that would have been embarrassing.

So what have we learnt from Tuchel’s first games? So far, he has been more entertaining than England which, again, may not be unexpected. Except he has promised more.

Who were the big winners? In defence it has been Ezri Konsa and 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly – mature at left-back and stepping into midfield – and less for Dan Burn and Marc Guehi, in particular, who was England’s best player at the Euros but made a series of mistakes here and almost gifted Latvia, 140^th in the world and a meagre threat, the opening goal.

James gilded a rusty performance, his first for England for almost three years, with that sumptuous free-kick while this has been a good camp for the thirtysomethings – Kyle Walker and, in particular, Jordan Henderson who appears to be settling into an influential role as a “finisher” under Tuchel as he was again brought off the bench.

It's simply MAGNIFICENT! 💥

A freekick of pure quality from Reece James ✨#ITVFootball | #ThreeLions | #CFCpic.twitter.com/xgz9xca16u

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 24, 2025

Why so against such an unthreatening team with the game won? Because Tuchel sees him there in bigger, closer contests.

It has been good for Declan Rice, also, and he earned another assist, and another encouraging combination with Harry Kane, as he drove forward. And there was Kane, of course, who did what he does: two games, two goals. It is now 71 for him in 105 appearances for England which is simply phenomenal.

Morgan Rogers pressed his case on his first start and should have scored twice but it was once more not so good for Phil Foden, who was afforded a cameo in the No 10 position that he so craves and where the competition is fierce. He did not make a mark.

The occupier of that role is Jude Bellingham; England’s best player who played so well against Albania but showed another more worrying side of his game on this occasion as he made a rash, unnecessary challenge. Having already been booked he was perhaps fortunate not to be sent off and it was telling that Tuchel substituted him soon after.

So much to ponder. Which is probably what Tuchel expected and he was a constant demander from the touchline as he pushed for more and it could easily have been more emphatic.

As expected he shuffled not just his line-up but his formation. This was more 4-1-4-1 or 3-2-4-1 in possession and it needed to be as he attempted to include more attacking players as he selected an England team that, for the first time since 1992, did not to feature a player from Manchester United, Manchester City or Liverpool even if Rashford is on loan from United.

Despite James’s arresting strike, those two second-half goals were the real encouragement. Firstly, Rashford and Rogers combined down the right with the latter waiting for Rice to break beyond him. He picked him out, the midfielder centred low and there was Kane to tap home.

Then Eze collected possession out on the other flank and ran at the defence, he worked his way into the area and shot with the ball deflecting off defender Antonijs Cernomordijs and into the net. As he celebrated Tuchel called for more. He needs that if England are to be the team he is promising.

---

10:10 PM GMT

Do you enjoy ranking? Here are the ratings…

England player ratings vs Latvia: Reece James stunner highlight of the night

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10:09 PM GMT

Listen: Matt Law’s verdict

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10:08 PM GMT

Thomas Tuchel speaks to ITV

I guess there was [improvement since Friday]. It was not an easy match. We had to unlock it. We saw a lot of good things: a good win, a clean sheet, we created a lot of chances from set-pieces. In general I am happy with the attitude, the energy and the desire. That’s what we want. We will get there. 

I know Reecey and I know the quality and the foot is amazing. 

The captain has every right to be happy and proud with his performance. He is in excellent shape. He looks sharp and about the quality there is no doubt

For the second goal there was more acceleration. In the second half they slowed the game down and we played without enough movement but the second goal was from acceleration where they didn’t expect the movement so we had the front five and the acceleration came from of our sixes, Declan, in this space. We encourage that from Reece and Myles and Declan to have these late accelerations. And you could see what it did for su, more freedom, more excitement and everything was a little easier. 

Happy with him [Morgan Rogers]. In a match where we are so dominant it can suit him a bit more from the wing. When we put him on the wing he was more dynamic in his movements. There was more space for him than in the half-space. it’s interesting because I learned about the players, about the game. 

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09:59 PM GMT

Harry Kane speaks to ITV

I think so [we were better than Friday. There were more patterns of play. more chances, opportunities. It was tough again against a team who get 11 behind the ball, we had to go wide, get in behind them. I thought the lads coming off the bench did well so we’re pleased with the two wins and two clean sheets as well. 

The way Reece hits the ball it has loads of top-spin and we saw that in training yesterday. It was quite far out and I’ve watched it back there was power and precision, incredible strike. 

We had to be patient. Declan put a great ball in. 

He’s great [Tuchel]. He’s brought the passion, the tactical preparation is top, top drawer and we’ll get better, we know. He’s pleased and we’re pleased ro have him.

---

09:49 PM GMT

James and Eze on their goals

"I was a bit surprised it hit the back of the net." 😅

First England goals for Eze and James! ⚽️👏#ITVFootball | #ThreeLions | 🎙️ @gabrielclarke05pic.twitter.com/FKyiKAznKb

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 24, 2025

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09:40 PM GMT

Full time: England 3 Latvia 0

Meh. Never really caught fire but a win’s a win and, as Morrissey said, these things take time. Eze was excellent when he came on. The most convincing performance of the five wingers used in both games, ie Rashford, Foden, Bowen and Gordon (though the Newcastle wide man was injured before he could make any impact).  

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09:38 PM GMT

90+2 min: England 3 Latvia 0

England sweep the ball around, content to leave it at that.

There were almost 80,000 here at the start of the match but it has emptied out now. Job done for England, not particularly pretty - but Tuchel has said himself they will win ugly getting to the World Cup. Some positive performances from James and Rogers, but a bit wobbly from Marc Guehi.

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09:37 PM GMT

90 min: England 3 Latvia 0

There will be three minutes of stoppage time. England have won the first two games of Tuchel’s spell in charge. But the tempo hasn’t been anything like quick enough to trouble the best sides.  

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09:35 PM GMT

88 min: England 3 Latvia 0

England corner on the right, taken short by Foden and switched to James on the left. He chips a long diagonal back to Foden who tries to head it across to Eze in the middle of the six-yard box but is thwarted by excellent last gasp defending again from Cernomordijs.

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09:33 PM GMT

86 min: England 3 Latvia 0

England ping the free-kick to the lively Eze on the left and his very good cross deserved more from Guehi but it slides off his forehead and slices wide. 

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09:32 PM GMT

84 min: England 3 Latvia 0

Two chances from set-pieces, Kane misses the header and then Konsa tries to stab it through Zviedris’s legs and he manages to close the gait and sit on the ball. Then the sub Melnoks is booked for legging up Kane. 

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09:29 PM GMT

81 min: England 3 Latvia 0

Zviedris tops Rogers’ fierce 20-yard drive over the bar.

Walker → Lewis-Skelly
Henderson → Rashford
Jones → Rice

This will be the last England match at Wembley until October, with Tuchel’s team on the road in June when they face Andorra away and Senegal at the City Ground. In September, there is a Coldplay concert at Wembley so their return clash against Andorra will be moved - Villa Park has been a suggested venue. Then after a trip to Belgrade to Serbia, England will finally be at the home of football again on Oct 9 when they face Wales in a friendly.

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09:26 PM GMT

78 min: England 3 Latvia 0

Terrific turn of pace from Rogers who executes a 180 degree spin 25 yards out, right of centre, sprints towards the inside left channel with the ball under his immaculate control and then, like Kane earlier. tries to feed it into the left corner but cannot persuade the shot to bend back in.

There are 15 minutes left and the Mexican Wave is going around Wembley.....just as England score their third goal through Eze. Strange atmosphere here as England have never been in trouble, yet they have not blown Latvia away either. Tuchel has warned fans to get used to this. Serbia and Andorra will look to contain England too. It could be a case of staying patient to get to America, Mexico and Canada next year.  

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09:20 PM GMT

GOAL!

England 3 Latvia 0 (Eze) Does exactly what his manager wanted him to do. Used his pace and trickery to slalom into the box from the left, cut back on to his right and shoot for the bottom right. It cannons into the defender and beats the keeper on the other side. A triumph for old school dribbling.

That's TERRIFIC from Eberechi Eze!

Lovely feet from the Crystal Palace man 🔥#ITVFootball | #ThreeLions | #CPFCpic.twitter.com/s5EqCebKB1

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 24, 2025

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09:19 PM GMT

73 min: England 2 Latvia 0

Miscontrol by Rashford as he broke at full pelt slowed him down at the vital moment and forced him to offload it to Kane rather than whipping in a cross for Foden who had kept pace with him. Kane takes it deeper into the box and shoots scruffily with his left at the keeper.  

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09:17 PM GMT

71 min: England 2 Latvia 0

James has to be alert to stop a Latvia break putting Ciganiks through the middle 25 yards out and through on goal. he slid in to hook it away.

Latvia still earn themselves a corner that Konsa heads away and England break.

Same combination as Friday night when Rice and Kane combined against Albania. Another cross from the right, another finish. Kane has scored 71 goals for England and Rice backed him to reach 100 eventually - who would bet against it with decent service like that? It came just a few seconds after Jude Bellingham was taken off. You can’t help think that Tuchel was protecting the Real Madrid midfielder from a red card. He had already received a yellow and went straight through Jurkovskis before the hour mark. It could easily have been a dismissal. 

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09:12 PM GMT

GOAL!

England 2 Latvia 0 (Kane) Made down the right by Rashford’s pass to Rogers who rolls it down towards the byline into Rice’s path as the Arsenal midfielder sprinted down the inside-right. He picked up his head to clip it to the back post where Kane converts the tap-in with his left foot.

England lead by two goals to nil! ⚽️⚽️

Declan Rice puts it on a plate for Harry Kane 🍽️#ITVFootball | #ThreeLionspic.twitter.com/tGHt3ziUkw

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 24, 2025

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09:12 PM GMT

66 min: England 1 Latvia 0

Right. The Footballer of the Year is going to get a run in the middle:

Foden → Bellingham. 

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09:10 PM GMT

64 min: England 1 Latvia 0

The corner comes to naught and Eze slips and concedes a foul when trying to recycle the ball on the left. 

Lewis-Skelly injects some urgency with a pinged pass to Bellingham on the left of the D. He lays it off to Kane who switches it on to his left to open the angle and tries to feed a shot into the bottom left. But he doesn’t impart enough whip and the ball stays true to pass the outside of the woodwork. 

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09:07 PM GMT

62 min: England 1 Latvia 0

Rogers’ tenacity and skill to turn Jaunzems allows him to head towards goal in from the left touchline and his cross is turned behind for a corner. 

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09:06 PM GMT

60 min: England 1 Latvia 0

First England change:

Eze → Bowen. 

Daskevics → Jurkovskis
Sits → Gutkovskis.

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09:04 PM GMT

58 min: England 1 Latvia 0

This is turgid. Eberechi Eze is going to come on imminently. Rashford dips his shoulder to beat Ciganiks down the outside on the right but his cross is straight at the keeper who picks it off at the near post. 

TheDaily Telegraph desk position at Wembley is usually protected from the paper aeroplanes but we’ve had our first fly on to our desk. It was a £10 ticket for the Junior England Supporters Club. One regular at England home matches was recently telling me the planes are mainly thrown by kids. It has become a bit of a modern Wembley phenomenon, regardless of the scoreline.  

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09:01 PM GMT

56 min: England 1 Latvia 0

Bellingham escapes a second yellow after scissoring Jurkovskis with a tackle from behind. The faintest of touches saved him. He is definitely ticking. 

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09:00 PM GMT

54 min: England 1 Latvia 0

Rashford tries to stand up a right-foot cross and whacks it straight into Ciganiks’ hooter. Down he goes and takes another 30 seconds out of the game. England will have a corner when he gets up. 

Jagodinskis → Savalnieks. 

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08:57 PM GMT

52 min: England 1 Latvia 0

The lengthy delay for treatment has been a definite vibe killer. Anyway, they’re about to resume now. 

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08:56 PM GMT

50 min: England 1 Latvia 0

Savalnieks has hurt his right ankle and, having tried to walk it off, sits down for a second time. On comes the physio. 

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08:54 PM GMT

48 min: England 1 Latvia 0

And still the posh seats are empty after half-time despite ITV going in tighter. Where do they go and what are they doing that takes so long? 

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08:51 PM GMT

46 min: England 1 Latvia 0

England’s wingers have switched at the start of the second half. No personnel changes. England will continue to make chances as Latvia tire but their final passes to set them up need to be more precise. 

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08:37 PM GMT

Half-time: England 1 Latvia 0

England have been the better team but so they should be. The keeper has made two sharp saves but even so England have to do more in terms of timing their runs to meet crosses. Rashford has been lively but we’ve not seen much from Lewis-Skelly in the positions he ghosted into on Friday. Similarly James is doing very well driving down the touchline while Bowen tends to go the other way on to his left. 

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08:34 PM GMT

45+2 min: England 1 Latvia 0

Zviedris makes another good save, this one from Rogers wrapping his right instep around Bowen’s cut-back from eight yards. 

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08:33 PM GMT

45+1 min: England 1 Latvia 0

Two minutes of stoppage time are signalled. Gutkovskis sends Konsa, who had his back to him, flying with a cheap shot to the small of the back. No yellow card oddly. 

Vladislavs Gutkovskis has at least made an impact this half. The Daejeon Hana Citizen striker has missed an open goal and clattered into England players with his flying tackles. An elbow into the back of Ezri Konsa left the Aston Villa centre-back fuming and hurt. 

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08:32 PM GMT

44 min: England 1 Latvia 0

Kane chastises himself for not gambling with a deeper dart into the box when James fizzed in almost the ideal cross on the run through the six-yard box. Balodis slid in to clear with Kane, a yard behind, smacking both palms on to his head.

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08:29 PM GMT

42 min: England 1 Latvia 0

Jaunzems chances his arm on catching Pickford napping with a 30-yard shot that floats straight down the keeper’s throat but needs two efforts to get it under control.

Bellingham was booked moments earlier for leaving a foot in cruelly on Zelenkovs.

The first paper aeroplane to land on the pitch touched-down just a few seconds before Reece James stuck that free-kick into the top corner. No celebration from the Chelsea full-back, barely a smile. He must be getting some of that frustration out.

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08:24 PM GMT

GOAL!

England 1 Latvia 0 (James) Perfect free-kick, put on a postage stamp in the top right corner. Curved beautifully and generated enough power and dip to take out the wall and strand the keeper. Superb. It’s his debut England goal but he barely twitches in celebration, staring down the camera like the Shane of Redbridge.

It's simply MAGNIFICENT! 💥

A freekick of pure quality from Reece James ✨#ITVFootball | #ThreeLions | #CFCpic.twitter.com/xgz9xca16u

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 24, 2025

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08:23 PM GMT

38 min: England 0 Latvia 0

Bellingham takes a pass to the left of the D from Rashford and fires a shot after shifting it on to his left that pinballs around the box. Latvia partially clear until they foul Lewis-Skelly. Free-kcik 25 yards out, right of centre.

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08:22 PM GMT

36 min: England 0 Latvia 0

Bellingham wins his third or fourth set-piece header in the Latvia box and again heads over, this time from Bowen’s free-kick, 25 yards out on the right. 

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08:19 PM GMT

34 min: England 0 Latvia 0

Rashford again uses his pace to drive to the byline and thump a cross to the near post that the keeper saves with his legs. Rashford retrieves it, plays it infield and then gets it back to arrow in a right-foot cross that Bellamy meets with a volleyed flick that doesn not fool the keeper. 

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08:17 PM GMT

32 min: England 0 Latvia 0

Rice goes for the big inswinger from the corner but it was easy pickings for Zviedris. 

Thomas Tuchel has football-casuals vibes with his baseball cap and designer raincoat. Water bottle in hand, he goes mad at the fourth official when Jarrod Bowen is denied a penalty when taken out by Krisjanis Zviedris. Tuchel is back in his seat by the time VAR make a check on the incident. 

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08:16 PM GMT

30 min: England 0 Latvia 0

Rashford gulls Savalnieks from the corner, switching the ball on to his left to drive in a cross that was hacked behind for another corner. 

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08:15 PM GMT

28 min: England 0 Latvia 0

England still showing no sign of thinking on their feet against a crowded defence despite the disparity in talent and experience.

Bowen is brought down in the box by the keeper Zviedris. Bellingham had gone up with the goalie for Rashford’s cross and when the ball fell, Zviedris tried to tip it away on the bounce but crashed into Bowen. VAR later backed the referee’s judgment that it was not a penalty. 

But before VAR got involved and took two minutes to look at it Rogers’ shot was blocked and the ball put behind for an England corner.  

---

08:10 PM GMT

23 min: England 0 Latvia 0

James gallops down the right, passes Ciganiks and arcs over a cross. Kane makes space to win it with a cute shove and then bludgeons his header over the bar. 

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08:09 PM GMT

21 min: England 0 Latvia 0

Rashford wants a penalty when he loses his footing on the left side of the area but it was a dive or more charitably a fall anticipating contact. From the corner that swiftly follows Bellingham’s goalbound header smacks into Rashford’s back and falls nicely for Konsa to volley hard and on target but Zviedris makes an excellent save.

Brilliant stop! ⛔️

Zviedris does well to scoop the ball over the bar#ITVFootball | #ThreeLionspic.twitter.com/CwJjGxq3bz

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 24, 2025

That penalty shout was right in front of the Latvia fans, who cheered like a goal had gone in when it was turned down. VAR is Ziv Adler from Israel and he backed up his on-field referee. The case for “no penalty” was Marcus Rashford already heading to ground when a touch to his ankle came – but there definitely looked to be a touch.

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08:07 PM GMT

19 min: England 0 Latvia 0

A cock-up in the communication department, Reggie when Pickford calls, or seems to, for a ball chipped over the top. Guehi either doesn’t hear him or ignores him and the two obstruct each other allowing Gutkovskis through and though the angle is tight the goal is gaping and he gets it all wrong. From an angle of about 30 degrees to the left post he spoons his shot into the side netting.

Nearly disastrous for England... 🫣

A mixup between Guehi and Pickford leaves Gutkovskis with an open goal#ITVFootball | #ThreeLionspic.twitter.com/74OjaDam4T

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 24, 2025

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08:05 PM GMT

17 min: England 0 Latvia 0

A cross creates a half-chance. Rashford floats one in towards the penalty spot and Bellingham is beaten in the air and hits the deck. The ball drops to Rogers who fires a shot that rebounds off a defender out to Bowen who whistles a shot over the bar. 

---

08:02 PM GMT

15 min: England 0 Latvia 0

Tuchel is not going to like Guehi making a straight pass that is picked off and then sliding into Gutkovskis to thwart the counter. It’s the straight pass he’ll hate, not the foul. Go wide. 

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07:59 PM GMT

12 min: England 0 Latvia 0

England are getting bogged down in central areas and look much better when shifting it out wide. Bowen is tackled by Ciganiks and he sends Ikaunieks bombing down the left. He diddles James and gallops down the touchline to earn a corner when booting it into Konsa’s shins. England see off the corner when Jaunzems bundles Konsa over before the ball arrives.  

ITV points out that this is the first England starting XI with no Manchester United, City or Liverpool players for 33 years. 

England will have a flat-back four in tomorrow’s Daily Telegraph ratings written by my colleague Sam Dean - but Myles Lewis-Skelly has been tucking into central midfield when the hosts have possession. That makes it a 3-2-4-1, which is very Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Biggest impact so far has been Reece James’ head clashing into Andreks Ciganiks’ as they jumped for the ball. Latvia are 140th in the Fifa rankings and they will defend tonight. 

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07:55 PM GMT

10 min: England 0 Latvia 0

Rashford guilty of laying it off contrary to Tuchel’s instructions in the first phase, curls a cross in when given it back by Bellingham but it was too low and slow and Cernomordijs hooks it away. 

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07:54 PM GMT

9 min: England 0 Latvia 0

Now James does link up with Bowen on the overlap and whacks a cross that goes over the crowd in the middle of the box and Rashford has to sprint to keep it alive

---

07:53 PM GMT

7 min: England 0 Latvia 0

Poor pass from Rice when James was trying to augment the threat from Bowen by pushing high to join the winger. The Arsenal midfielder put the ball behind him. 

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07:52 PM GMT

5 min: England 0 Latvia 0

Bellingham seems to be playing ahead of Rogers. Not quite the 10 but more of a 4-3-3. James wipes out Ciganiks as he clatters into him late mid-air. Could easily have been a yellow card. Tuchel gasps and puts his hands on his head before the full-back who has been wrapped in cotton wool for two-and-a-half years gets up unscathed. 

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07:49 PM GMT

3 min: England 0 Latvia 0

Two tight banks, one of five, one of four for Latvia as England try to get in behind. Rashford does what he didn’t do on Friday, spins and slots a pass down the left into the box for Bellingham to chase but it slides out of play before he can cross and he hammers it into the hoardings in frustration. 

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07:47 PM GMT

1 min: England 0 Latvia 0

England kick off and tap it back to Pickford who is standing 30 yards off his line. He advances a further five and sticks it into the mixer. Jurkovskis heads it away. When Tuchel said he liked direct football, he really meant it. 

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07:42 PM GMT

Out come the teams

England in white shirts and socks with blue shorts. They wore white shorts against Albania even though they were the home side.

Latvia in a kind of red that’s not quite the burgundy of old.

Tuchel’s Army, commissioned for Thomas Tuchel and performed by Doktor, is being played during a firework display, smoke crackers and army personnel holding a giant Three Lions flag. It feels a little low-key still - it will be down to England to excite this crowd.  

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07:39 PM GMT

The Morgan Rogers story

Interesting profile and the lad’s honesty and excitement are a tonic:

Setbacks. Courage. Hard work.

The making and meteoric rise of Morgan Rogers 💫#ITVFootball | #ThreeLions | #AVFC | 🎙️ @gabrielclarke05pic.twitter.com/6xEqQP2Rpk

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 24, 2025

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07:26 PM GMT

Mixing it up

Reece James’ last England start was September 2022 against Germany. Jarrod Bowen’s first start since last June. Morgan Rogers’ first England start. Thomas Tuchel is mixing it up in his first matches as manager.

What can we tell from his first two matches? Perhaps the games in September will tell us more about how the World Cup line-up will look but so far we can see he wants to play 4-2-3-1, or 4-1-4-1 when attacking more. Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham amd Harry Kane are the spine of this team.

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07:24 PM GMT

Jordan Pickford speaks to ITV

A lot of hard work’s been put in and I’ve got to sustain those levels to be England’s No 1. It’s a privilege and a proud moment for me [on winning his 74th cap to overtake Gordon Banks and make him the fourth highest-capped England keeper after Peter Shilton (125), Joe Hart and David Seaman (75 each)].

We have to finish off this week with another win and entertain the fans. We want to keep a clean sheet, expect the unexpected but we need to put a show on for the fans.

I’ll keep my body right and it’s 10 caps a year so I could do it in five years [if] I keep the England shirt [on catching Shilton]. 

[He was smiling broadly throughout that last answer].   

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07:18 PM GMT

Rewarded for his Villa form

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07:10 PM GMT

Looks more like a 5-4-1 from Latvia

With Ikaunieks withdrawn into a floating midfield role rather than playing up top with Gutovskis. 

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07:00 PM GMT

Another England game ...

Means another tangle with ITV and its montage mania. It’s a sell-out at Wembley, the final tickets going this morning. 

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06:48 PM GMT

Although England’s men have not played Latvia...

The women have, winning by a score in 2021:

It's England 20-0 Latvia.#ITVFootball | #Lionessespic.twitter.com/30dvXDBt59

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 30, 2021

Match report: White becomes England’s record goalscorer after 20-goal demolition of Latvia

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06:40 PM GMT

England pay tribute to Lord Ouseley

Sir Alex Ferguson has led the tributes to the late Lord Ouseley, who will be honoured at England’s match against Latvia at Wembley tonight five months after his death.  

“Herman was fearless. He was an inspiration to many and a true leader,” said the former Manchester United manager.  

The Football Association and Kick It Out will honour Ouseley on what would have been his 80th birthday. Ouseley founded the Let’s Kick Racism Out of Football campaign in 1993 and served as chair for 25 years.   

Ferguson, John Barnes and Hope Powell are among those who speak in a 10-minute video on Ouseley’s impact.  

Who was Lord Herman Ouseley?

Find out more about the man Sir Alex Ferguson describes as "fearless" in our new documentary. Part of the film will also play before England's game at Wembley tonight.

🎥 Watch the doc here: https://t.co/95NB7aU60X#ThankYouHerman | @SkySportspic.twitter.com/2NGRDbvHNG

— Kick It Out (@kickitout) March 24, 2025

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06:37 PM GMT

Your teams in black and white

England Pickford; James, Konsa, Guehi, Lewis-Skelly; Rice, Bellingham; Bowen, Rogers, Rashford; Kane. 
Substitutes D Henderson, Trafford, Walker, Foden, J Henderson, Burn, Colwill, Eze, Jones, Gibbs-White, Solanke, Quansah.

Latvia Zviedris; Savalnieks, Jurkovskis, Cernomordijs, Balodis Ciganiks; Jaunzems, Saveljevs, Zelenkovs, Ikaunieks; Gutkovskis. 
Substitutes Tonisevs, Melniks, Krollis, Sits, Vapne, Daskevics, Isajevs, Sliede, Jagodinskis, Matrevics, Ozols.

Referee Orel Grinfeeld (Israel)

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06:31 PM GMT

Team news latest

England make four changes: In come Reece James, Marc Guehi, Morgan Rogers and Jarrod Bowen for Kyle Walker, Dan Burn, Phil Foden and Curtis Jones.

Tonight's #ThreeLions vs Latvia! 🦁 pic.twitter.com/WCsKCADpCh

— England (@England) March 24, 2025

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05:26 PM GMT

Team news: James to make first start since 2022

Reece James is in line to be handed his first England start for almost three years by Thomas Tuchel in tonight’s World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

Chelsea captain James made a substitutes’ appearance against Albania last Friday and is now expected to start for England for the first time since September 2022.

It remains to be seen whether Tuchel uses James on the right or the left, having said the defender can play in both full-back positions. James replaced left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly at the end of the victory over Albania.

James’s England opportunities have been severely impacted by injuries but Tuchel is a big fan of the 25-year-old.

The pair won the Champions League together at Chelsea and James played some of his best club football under Tuchel.

Former Chelsea central defender Marc Guehi is also hoping to start against Latvia in the centre of defence, having not been selected for the Albania match.

Newcastle United’s Dan Burn admitted that he had felt tired in the second half of the Albania game, which could prompt Tuchel to look at Guehi next to Ezri Konsa. Levi Colwill is expected to be on the bench.

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04:18 PM GMT

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04:17 PM GMT

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04:13 PM GMT

Preview: Function and form

Good evening and welcome to live coverage of the Uefa Group K, 2026 World Cup qualifier between England and Latvia from Wembley. Both sides started their campaigns with victories on Friday, England by virtue of goals from Myles Lewis-Skelly and captain Harry Kane dispatching Albania homewards after a far from convincing home display and Latvia beating Andorra 1-0 in the principality in front of 957 patriots and masochists.

England have never played Latvia though recent draws have pitted them against their Baltic neighbours and allies, Lithuania and Estonia, eight times, winning all of them. The visitors’ head coach, Paolo Nicolato, was appointed from the Italy U21 side last year with a brief to arrest a dismal run of results and build for the future but he has struggled almost as much as his predecessors. Before their victory over Andorra, ranked 171st of 210 sides by Fifa, Latvia had won only two of their preceding 10 games and both of them were over the Faroe Islands. During the slide that has left them ranked in 140th position, 136 places below England, they had lost home and away to Armenia and North Macedonia and drawn with the Faroes and Liechtenstein.

In short, then, a team such as Albania ranked 65th in the world with three genuinely good Serie A/Ligue 1/Liga players can drop into a low block, frustrate, smother and make England look pedestrian as they probe ponderously, like a drunken man jiggling his front door lock with the wrong key. A team as poor as Latvia, with one St Johnstone defender, Daniels Balodis, and a South Korean K1 League occasional striker in Vladislavs Gutkovskis, are there to be taken to the cleaners.

To that end, Thomas Tuchel’s precision strikes on Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden should have left them in no doubt that in a return to prioritising the historic strengths of the English game, the head coach values dribbling, direct wingers rather than passers. The main flaw in this is that Foden is not really a winger but a No 10 or inside forward. He’s the reigning footballer of the year but will never play in his preferred role unless Jude Bellingham is injured. Perhaps this is Tuchel’s way of giving him enough rope and, unlike Eriksson, McClaren and Capello, laying the ground of making a call re Bellingham/Parker/Foden in a way they never did over Lampard and Gerrard.

With 16 months to build a World Cup-winning team and a famously ruthless pragmatic streak, he will not be indulging his most talented players who do not do as he wants where he wants for very long. If selected they need to take the handbrake off. For Tuchel ‘functional’ is not a taboo word. 

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