Tuchel: 'It wasn't an easy match'

England men’s head coach Thomas Tuchel identified a number of aspects of his side’s performance he was satisfied with following this evening’s 3-0 showing against Latvia at Wembley.

The new Three Lions boss made it back-to-back wins under the arch to mark the start of a new era, building on Friday’s 2-0 win over Albania in England’s World Cup qualifying campaign.

But, as predicted in the build-up to the game, Tuchel explained that his team still had hurdles to overcome in their first-ever match-up with Latvia.

“It wasn't an easy match,” insisted Tuchel. “We had to unlock it. I saw a lot of good things. We have a good result, another clean sheet, we created a lot of chances from set-pieces.

“We needed a free-kick to unlock it but in general, I'm happy with the attitude and the energy and desire to do the stuff that we want and we will get there.”

The aforementioned free-kick was scored by Reece James – named in the starting line-up by Tuchel – who curled in a stunning 25-yard set-piece to break the deadlock for the hosts in the first half.

We're all watching this on repeat, right? 🔁pic.twitter.com/3oa5QboVp1

— England (@England) March 24, 2025

And the full-back is a player the boss knows well, with the duo having worked together and tasted success at Chelsea.

“I know the foot and the quality that the boy has is amazing,” continued Tuchel. “He has every right to be proud and happy and satisfied with his performance. He's in excellent shape.

“When we called him up, we knew he had not so many games but we knew it wasn't because of injury. They [Chelsea] took care of him and managed him. He looks sharp and looks in shape and about his quality – there can't be any doubt.”

England captain Harry Kane also made the scoresheet for the home team as the Three Lions’ record goalscorer added to his tally after finding the back of the net last time out against Albania.

It puts the Bayern Munich forward on 19 goals in 16 World Cup qualifiers – an impressive record which could help England pave their way to next year’s major tournament in North America.

“The second goal was well-worked because we had some acceleration from a position they didn't expect it,” said Tuchel, analysis England’s second goal of the night, scored by Kane.

We had a front five but the acceleration came from one of our sixes, from Declan, into “the space. We encourage everyone to have these and with Declan to have these late accelerations.

“We struggled a little bit until the goal but you saw also what the goal gave us – a lot of freedom, a little bit of excitement and everything felt a little bit easier.”

Tuchel made changes to his starting XI against Latvia, including bringing in Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers who completed the full 90 minutes.

“I'm happy with him in general,” commented Tuchel. “He deserved to start because he trained very good and plays very good for Villa.

“I think in a match where we are so dominant, I think it can suit him more to play from the wing. Once we put him on the wing, he felt more freedom in the touches, and he can work his way into his dynamic movements.

“There was a little bit more space for him there than the half-space. It's interesting because I learn about the players and I learn about the game and that's good.”