England v Latvia LIVE: Three Lions pull away from stubborn minnows late on in World Cup qualifier
England 3-0 Latvia: Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions were frustrated for large parts by the minnows but Reece James’s stunning free-kick plus late goals from Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze ensured victory
England beat Latvia 3-0 as Reece James and Eberechi Eze both scored their first senior international goals to help make it two wins out of two for Thomas Tuchel's side in the World Cup qualifying campaign.
Chelsea right back James, making his first England start since 2022, curled in a sublime free-kick to break the deadlock in the 38th minute of the Group K clash at Wembley.
As against Albania on Friday, England laboured at times to break down a massed defence but captain Harry Kane doubled the lead in the 68th with a tap-in from Declan Rice's pass.
Eze then came off the bench and his deflected shot made it 3-0 in the 76th minute. Favourites England top the group on six points with Albania, who beat Andorra 3-0 in Monday's other fixture, and Latvia on three.
Relive all the action with our live blog below as England beat Latvia at Wembley:
REPORT: Thomas Tuchel shown the frustration of international football despite another England win
Thomas Tuchel’s otherwise forgettable second win at least brought some memorable firsts. Both Reece James and Eberechi Eze opened their international goalscoring accounts, to secure a 3-0 win over Latvia.
In between, Harry Kane of course got his 71st goal, but this didn’t quite become the stat-padding some might have expected.
Latvia didn’t let it. They made England really work for any opening, which in turn made James’ goal all the more valuable. On a night of frustrating imprecision, he offered a goal of soaringly exquisite accuracy.
It’s dubious as to whether Tuchel got much else out of the night, Eze’s first goal notwithstanding. The new manager might instead be realising just how thankless a lot of international football can be.
Read the full report from Chief Football Writer Miguel Delaney at Wembley:
Thomas Tuchel shown frustration of international football despite England win
Thomas Tuchel vows England 'will get there'
Thomas Tuchel spoke to ITV after England’s victory this evening.
Tuchel said: "It was not an easy match. We saw a lot of good things, created good chances. We needed a free-kick to unlock it. I'm happy with the attitude, energy and desire. We will get there.
"I know Reecey [James] and the quality the boy has is amazing. He has every right to be proud and happy with his performance. He is in excellent shape. He looks sharp, in shape and the quality there can be no doubt.
"The second half we started to slow the game down and made little movement, which makes no sense. But the second goal was better as we showed acceleration from one of our sixes. We encourage everyone to have these late accelerations but we struggled a bit until the goal."
England's goalscorers reflect on Latvia win
Two of England’s goalscorers Eberechi Eze and Reece James have spoken to ITV about the 3-0 win:
Eberechi Eze said: "It was a strong performance from us. It was important to win.
"I always want to impact the game whenever I play. Today it has come off, it is good to contribute."
Reece James said: "It has been a long time, I have had a frustrating two years. I'm so happy to be called up by my country again. I saw the wall and felt I could bend it round. I was a bit surprised it hit the net.
"Thomas Tuchel's ideas are clear. We have one objective and that starts this week right up until the World Cup."
WATCH: England beat Latvia 3-0
Three nice goals for England in the end at Wembley. Here they are:
FULL-TIME! England 3-0 Latvia
All over at Wembley. Frustration at points for England but they pulled away late on as Harry Kane 71st goal for his country and Eberechi Eze’s first made it a more comfortable win after Reece James’s exquisite first-half free-kick.
More to come from Thomas Tuchel’s England still but some good stuff to work with across these two games
England 3-0 Latvia, 89 mins
England pushing for a late fourth. Konsa has a chance when the ball flashes across goal towards him before Foden nods a ball back across to a waiting Eze but Latvia scramble it behind for a corner.
England 3-0 Latvia, 84 mins
Rogers strolls past his defender and then unleashes a left-footed strike at goal that is well tipped over by Kviedris. He’s looked lively tonight has Rogers
It’s then a bit of a scramble in the box from the corner as Konsa pokes towards goal, it rebounds around, Kane can’t get a clean strike and the ball squirts out of danger.
England 3-0 Latvia, 82 mins
A couple of goals from England to finally break down the stubborn Latvia defence
England 3-0 Latvia, 80 mins
Slew of subs for England as Rashford, Rice and Lewis-Skelly head off the pitch with Curtis Jones, Jordan Henderson and Kyle Walker on.
CHANCE! England 3-0 Latvia, 77 mins
It probably should be 4-0 almost immediately. England flood forward again, Rogers moves towards the edge of the box and tries to curl the ball into the far corner of the goal, beyond the keeper, but it’s curled just wide.
Great chance for the Villa playmaker
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