England will be looking to make it two wins from two when they welcome Latvia for Monday’s World Cup qualifier.
The Three Lions kicked off their qualifying campaign with a rather confident 2-0 win over Albania on Friday night – a game which marked the start of the Thomas Tuchel era.
The German manager has vowed to bring a more expansive style to Wembley, and while the early signs are positive, there is still a lot of work to do.
One thing is clear, Tuchel – unlike Gareth Southgate – is not one for tolerating missed attacking opportunities.
Phil Foden’s decision to play a backwards pass instead of making a daring run forward in the third minute was met with a frustrated reaction by the German coach, who turned around to his bench in disgust.
His approach in post-match interviews is also different to his predecessor. While Southgate would go to bat for his players, Tuchel is not afraid to make honest observations. His open critique of Foden and Marcus Rashford proved that.
With the exception of the wingers, there was a lot to like about England. Dan Burn had an impressive display, as did Ezri Konsa who took Marc Guehi’s spot.
Declan Rice, Curtis Jones, Kyle Walker and Jude Bellingham all seemed comfortable with Tuchel’s pressing style. Myles Lewis-Skelly – who scored the opener – didn’t look out of place considering he was playing for the England U19s as recently as last October.
The attention now turns to Latvia on Monday night. While winning the match and taking the three points is the obvious main objective, there will be a lot of attention on the performance too.
There were a lot of empty seats towards the end of England’s opening match and if the Three Lions are hoping to change that, they will need to turn up the heat.
Latvia are unlikely to offer much resistance which should give Tuchel’s men an opportunity to practise being more threatening, more expansive and a lot more ruthless.
Here, we take a look at everything you need to know ahead of Monday’s World Cup qualifier.
READ: England flop Foden embarrassed as Lewis-Skelly becomes 21st player to shame him
England team news
Tuchel is likely to make at least two changes, both of which will come at the wings. Marcus Rashford is expected to make room for Jarrod Bowen, while Anthony Gordon is now out of the squad with an injury.
Apart from that, it will be interesting which approach Tuchel takes. On one hand, he could stick largely with the same team and build on a positive first outing.
Alternatively, he could make some serious changes and explore different options in what is a very early stage of his tenure.
Let’s not forget that Tuchel is missing a number of big names through injuries, including Bukayo Saka, Kobbie Mainoo, Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
England expected line-up (4-2-3-1):
Pickford – Walker, Guehi, Konsa, Lewis-Skelly – Rice, Henderson – Gordon, Bellingham, Bowen – Kane.
Latvia team news
Latvia are without two of their big names for this international break, with Roberts Uldrikis and captain Kristers Tobers both missing out through injuries.
Deniss Melniks was taken off at half-time against Andorra on Friday, while his replacement Dario Sits scored the match-winning goal just a few minutes later. With that in mind, we expect Sits to keep his place in the team.
Latvia expected line-up
Zviedris – Balodis, Cernomordijs, Jurkovskis – Savalnieks, Saveljevs, Sits, Ciganiks – Zelenkovs, Ikaunieks – Gutkovskis
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England vs Latvia: How to watch and listen
England’s World Cup qualifier with Latvia will be available live on ITV 1 and ITV X. Radio commentary, meanwhile, will be available via BBC Radio 5 Live.
England vs Latvia stats
- This will be the first ever official international fixture between England and Latvia
- England are on a four-match winning run, scoring 13 goals along the way and conceding one
- Latvia’s win over Andorra marked their first victory in five games
- Friday’s win over Andorra was also their first away success in 12 games
READ: England player ratings v Albania: Foden awful, Lewis-Skelly shines and Rashford pleases everyone
Thomas Tuchel (England) quotes:
After Albania match:
“This will be the story of qualification. We will go through the whole group with everyone knowing we are the favourites – but we must accept it and keep on going.
“I was happy with the way we controlled Albania’s counter-attacks in the first half, when we didn’t concede even a half-chance.
“But in the second half, we took a little more risk in the structure and I felt we became a bit more vulnerable because suddenly we had six players higher up the pitch and we were not so disciplined in our positions.
“I was happy with the way we controlled Albania’s counter-attacks in the first half, when we didn’t concede even a half-chance.
“But in the second half, we took a little more risk in the structure and I felt we became a bit more vulnerable because suddenly we had six players higher up the pitch and we were not so disciplined in our positions.
“The ball losses then became a little bit more dangerous. That came from a lack of discipline. Our game also slowed down – and I’m not exactly sure why. I’m not the most patient guy in the world when it comes to it – but I will learn and push the players.”
On adapting to international football:
“I have to adapt to the rhythm of international football when the challenge is to prepare inside three days, with 20 players from 10 or 12 clubs with one idea of football.
“It’s an okay start. It was a very good result to start against an unorthodox opponent.”
Paolo Nicolato (Latvia manager):
Quotes to follow…
England vs Latvia prediction
England -2 handicap – 2/5
England will be looking to close out this international break on a high and we expect them to deliver in the goal department. The handicap market is the way to go in this one.
Harry Kane to score anytime – 1/4
Since making his first World Cup qualifier appearance back in September 2016, only Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski have scored more goals than Harry Kane in qualifiers. We’re backing them England frontman to add to his tally.
