England has secured its place in the 2026 World Cup after they crushed rivals Latvia in a stunning 5-0 victory.
The action took place at the Daugava stadium in Riga, with England starting in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Prolific goal scorer Harry Kane returned to his number nine role. His inclusion came after not playing in the friendly they had against Wales on Thursday, where the Lions won 3-0.
Latvia have not won a game in their World Cup qualification run since their 1-0 result in March against Andorra, including a 3-0 defeat by England at Wembley Stadium when the teams clashed last year.
England looked sharp on the ball early on and almost brought home a goal from Harry Kane that was ruled offside in the first minute, a prominent display of what was to come.
Kane with a chance to put England ahead in the seventh minute but just put it wide. Back from a foot injury that hindered his chance to start against Wales, Kane has had 16 goals in 10 appearances for Bayern Munich this season and 43 goals in 2025 so far.
England allowed Latvia to win most aerial battles in the box as a result to their crosses, which lacked precision in the first half.
Anthony Gordon opened with a goal for England in the 26th minute, as Stones played it over the top and allowed Gordon to cut in and finesse into the bottom corner, his second international goal since November.
Latvia responded almost immediately and tested England’s defence, but nothing came of it after Konsa blocked the cross which then was looked at by VAR for a potential handball.
Their away game to Latvia marked Pickford’s 80th international appearance, who has only made one error which led to a goal since 2017.
Harry Kane doubled England’s lead with a strike into the bottom corner from outside the box in the 44th minute, his 75th goal for in 110 appearances wearing the England shirt.
After a VAR check deeming a foul during a corner, Harry Kane stepped up and scored a penalty to put England 3-0 up before the halftime whistle.
Latvia soon then had a goal scoring opportunity in the 54th minute but were denied by a slide tackle by Konsa in the last moment.
A fourth goal came for England after a cross deflected off Latvian defender Tonisevs in the 58th minute, just 12 minutes after being brought onto the pitch.
England made three substitutions soon after their fourth goal, with Bowen on for Saka, Henderson on for Rice and Eze on for Rogers in the 60th, minute, followed by Rashford on for Gordon and Burn for Stones in the 71st.
After coming on in the 86th minute, Eze got his second goal for England, making it 5-0 when the final whistle blew.
This game also marked Pickford’s 80th international appearance, who has only made one error which led to a goal since 2017. England were also able to qualify for the World Cup without conceding a single goal in all eight of their wins.
