What we realized as Thomas Tuchel’s England flatter to deceive in Latvia win

Thomas Tuchel made it two wins from two games to start his England tenure but the Three Lions again flattered to deceive against the 140th world ranked nation

Thomas Tuchel made it two wins from two games in his England tenure, but the World Cup looks a long way away after a frustrating night against Latvia.

The German began his tenure as England boss with a routine 2-0 win against Albania, demanding more from his players heading into his second game against Latvia on Monday night, which was won 3-0.

But his demands, presumably, were not met again as England failed to brush aside the 140th world ranked nation until the final 20 minutes. Reece James’ brilliant free-kick eventually opened the scoring in the 38th minute but England had to wait until Harry Kane tapped home to double the lead midway through the second-half.

England could have gone behind when Vladislavs Gutkovskis missed an open goal after latching onto the end of the ball from a tight angle following a mix-up between Jordan Pickford and Marc Guehi. It was the visitor’s only chance of the night, but it was a golden one.

Eberechi Eze then showed exactly what Tuchel was wanting from his wingers as he drove inside from the left wing with his shot deflecting past the goalkeeper for 3-0.

Here, the Daily Star Sport looks at what we’ve learned about Tuchel’s England team.

Wingers

Tuchel demanded more from his wingers after the Albania game and opted to make a change on the right, bringing in Jarrod Bowen for Phil Foden, while Marcus Rashford was given another chance off the left.

The Aston Villa loanee was heavily involved in the first-half, with Rashford making a number of direct runs at the Latvian defence from off the left touchline as he caused havoc and tried to get shots and crosses away, but it was to no avail.

But in the second half, Rashford and Bowen swapped wings to be deployed as traditional wide players looking to stretch the pitch in an attempt to give Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers more space on the edge of the box.

Eze was introduced for Bowen on the hour mark and his goal in the 76th minute was exactly what his manager has been wanting to see, however fortunate the eventual finish was, as the Crystal Palace star drove inside from the left wing.

Reece James

James was making his first England appearance since March 2023 as he started right-back having been an unused substitute in Friday’s win against Albania.

And the Chelsea captain made his mark, showing exactly why England need him at full fitness. His brilliantly struck free-kick which found the top corner showed he has the level of quality in possession to match Trent Alexander-Arnold, while his defensive ability is certainly more assured than the Liverpool star and that of Kyle Walker of late.

A fit James should be the first name on Tuchel’s team sheet at the World Cup next summer.

Defence selection

Tuchel has been unable to select the strongest backline England has to offer due to John Stones’ injury sidelining a certain starter in the heart of defence. While the absence of Alexander-Arnold, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw means the German could virtually name a completely different back four in his next squad.

Partially to do with the absence of a suitable competitor at left-back, but also his impressive debut, Myles Lewis-Skelly started at left-back again in a clear show of faith from Tuchel in the teenager.

Ezri Konsa kept his place again as the Villa defender made good of his chance to nail down his place in the team.

While Guehi’s return in place of Dan Burn will be most notably remembered for the heart-in-the-mouth moment that presented Gutkovskis with an open goal following a terrible mix-up with Jordan Pickford.

Midfield balance

Making his first senior England start, Morgan Rogers started behind Harry Kane, seeing Jude Bellingham often playing deeper alongside Declan Rice – leaving the Arsenal man to sit.

However, after Bellingham was replaced, Rice made a darting run behind the backline to assist Kane’s second goal, showing Tuchel must find a way to not stifle Rice’s box-to-box ability, while also including the likes of Bellingham, Phil Foden, Rogers, Eze and the currently unavailable Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka.

Tuchel has little over a year to find a way to make it work, but ultimately, a star name will have to be sacrificed.