Latvia 0 – 5 England – Reaction

A Harry Kane brace along with goals from Gordon, Eze and an own goal saw England to a comfortable but impressive 5 -0 victory over Latvia to secure World Cup qualification.

Beating Latvia is a foregone conclusion but the manner in which Tuchel now has this side putting teams away is what has to be admired.

He has got this team playing on the front foot, at high tempo and doing this from the first whistle. Obviously, it is one thing being able to do it in qualifiers, but the big test will come against the big boys in the heat of the North American summer.

Most of the starting eleven last night are surely on the plane as a minimum if not guaranteed starters.

One man who is a guaranteed starter is Kane who once again bagged two goals and could have easily had two or three more on another night. His all-round game was also excellent. I have never understood those that don’t rate Kane. His finishing and goalscoring record are exceptional. He finds a way to drop in to midfield and ping passes around but still manages to be on the end of chances in the box. There should be no complaints when he drops deep. He is also our best defender at set pieces which goes unnoticed.

Kane was certainly a contender for man of the match, and the other was Anthony Gordon who added some end product to his pace and talent.

Not only did he get on the score sheet but more importantly he put a lot of good balls into the box and had the full back on toast.

Gordons’ goal was assisted by Stones who found the Newcastle winger in acres of space with an inch perfect long ball.

I may be at the risk of repeating myself here, but it is no coincidence that we have looked a lot more fluent going forward with Stones back in the side.

His range of passing and ability to bring the ball out of defence is a vital cog in this England team and it is obvious why Tuchel was so eager to get him into the team.

Saka and Rogers were a bit quieter than in the previous game, but they did it in the Wales match and it was time for others to step up.

Spence was excellent at full back, but Lewis-Skelly looks as though he may not be quite ready yet after looking a shoe in for the left back spot only a few months ago. He may have a fight on to get into the squad unless he can get game time for Arsenal. He may, however, be saved by the lack of left-footed left-back options unless Shaw can get some form and fitness.

My World Cup Squad if I had to pick it now would be:

Goalkeepers:

Pickford, Pope, Henderson.

Defenders:

James, Spence, Livramento, Stones, Guehi, Konsa, Maguire, Burn, Lewis-Skelly

Midfielders & Wingers:

Rice, Anderson, Wharton, Saka, Madueke, Rogers, Gordon, Eze, Bowen, Rashford, Grealish, Palmer

Strikers:

Kane, Watkins

Yes, I would leave Bellingham out for the purpose of team morale. Foden has never managed to do it in an England shirt so why should he take the spot of players who have.

Lewis-Skelly’s place would be at risk from Shaw or Mitchell depending on how the season goes. And I can find no place for Trent given that Spence and Livramento can play both sides and have also performed better than him for England.

There should absolutely be no place for Jordan Henderson. That may make the number 6 and number 8 positions look short on depth but there are options to play the number 10’s deeper if needed or Stones and James could come into the equation. There is no point picking someone who is a midfielder but is not up to the level.

A lot can and will change between now and the World Cup though.