Thomas Tuchel kicked off his tenure as England manager with a professional if slightly dull 2-0 victory over Albania at Wembley on Friday night.
Myles Lewis-Skelly scored his first international goal on his senior debut while Harry Kane extended his record tally to 70 goals for the national team.
Despite the win, England’s performance was very reminiscent of the Gareth Southgate era with controlled possession, slow build-up and a lack of runners in the wide areas. Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden took on the latter roles and Tuchel has explained ‘what more he wants’ as he seeks to bring Premier League intensity to the international game.
Anthony Gordon has withdrawn from the squad after picking up a hip injury against Albania and there may be changes to the starting XI with the likes of Jordan Henderson and Marc Guehi brought into the team.
Follow all the updates and action with our live blog below as England face Latvia at Wembley:
Tuchel on naming squad for Latvia game
“We have to get the process right to find the best group,” Thomas Tuchel said about the squad he’s chosen for tonight’s match.
“If that means we leave very good and talented players out of the squad this can happen.
“In the next 16 months it is important we find the right team and not the most talented 26 players.
“We need to get the team right. We need to get the team spirit right because it’s one thing to play qualifiers, it’s another thing to play tournament football.”
The Myles Lewis-Skelly moment that showed what England need under Thomas Tuchel
On the eve of Thomas Tuchel’s first England game, he insisted we “can be sure” if he says something in the press he has already told his players, so the wonder is how blunt he was in the dressing room after this 2-0 win over Albania. The new manager didn’t seem all that impressed with any of it, except Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Tuchel went into surprisingly specific detail about why he didn’t think the performance was especially good, and why the attack didn’t work. This is the other side of a manager who has been praised over the last week for his openness and humour. It is complemented by a striking bluntness.
No Livramento for England
Tino Livramento has been left out of England’s squad for tonight’s World Cup qualifier with Latvia.
The Newcastle defender was an unused substitute for Friday’s 2-0 win versus Albania and will not feature at Wembley this evening.
Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is also absent but Morgan Gibbs-White is included following the withdrawal of Anthony Gordon from the camp.
Henderson can push players to the max
Jordan Henderson’s inclusion in Thomas Tuchel’s squad raised eyebrows but the noise from the camp is very positive over the midfielder.
The former Liverpool captain is a leader and hard worker who pushes players to perform and train at their best.
“Henderson’s one of the best I have seen,” Declan Rice said.
“I love Hendo, I love playing with him. He helps you so much. It’s about pushing each other to the max to get the most out of each other.
“You only get one career and we’ve already lost two finals. We are all getting older.”
Tuchel to raise England standards
Thomas Tuchel has been brought in as England boss with one aim; Win the World Cup.
In order to do that the manager hopes to raise the standards of England’s performances and has identified that just winning games isn’t enough.
The manner of those wins is also massively important.
“With all respect, this is not now just to get a win over Latvia, no matter how,” the manager said.
“This is about our standards. How do we win, how do we play and how do we impose ourselves and deserve a win against Latvia?
“It’s to raise the standards.”
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England vs Latvia prediction
England are almighty favourites up against Latvia and anything less than a rout will be a surprise.
Expect goals galore on Thomas Tuchel’s second England outing.
England 5-0 Latvia.
Early team news for Latvia
Latvia have no new injury concerns, with any changes during the Andorra win appearing purely tactical.
Deniss Melinks was taken off at half-time for the more attacking Dario Sits, who scored the winner last week.
Sits may have proved his case to start against England, but expect a well-rested Melinks to keep his place in the starting XI, with defensive resilience sure to be of paramount importance for the visitors.
Predicted Latvia XI: Zviedris; Jurkovskis, Balodis, Cernomordijs; Savalnieks, Melniks, Savaljevs, Ciganiks; Zelenkovs, Ikaunieks; Sits
England early team news
Anthony Gordan has withdrawn from the squad after limping off with a hip injury towards the end of England’s 2-0 win over Albania last Friday.
Morgan Gibbs-White could be in line to step in for Gordan, who didn’t feature in Tuchel’s matchday squad on Friday.
Expect wholesale changes to Tuchel’s starting XI as he works out his favoured team, which could see the likes of James Trafford, Reece James, Jordan Henderson and Jarrod Bowen feature.
Predicted England XI: Trafford; James, Colwill, Guehi, Livramento; Rice, Henderson; Bowen, Bellingham, Rodgers; Kane