England secured their place at an eighth consecutive FIFA World Cup finals with a commanding 5–0 victory over Latvia in Riga, maintaining their perfect record after six qualifiers.

Thomas Tuchel made two changes from the side that defeated Wales five days earlier, restoring captain Harry Kane to the starting XI and handing Myles Lewis-Skelly a place in midfield.

Kane was immediately involved, seeing an early strike ruled out for offside before narrowly missing from Anthony Gordon’s cross. England started with purpose, creating several early chances through Gordon and Bukayo Saka as they looked determined to seal qualification in style.

The breakthrough arrived midway through the first half when Gordon latched onto a long ball from John Stones, cut inside from the left, and rifled a stunning finish past Krišjānis Zviedris.

England’s dominance continued, with Kane doubling the lead through a powerful left-footed drive from distance before calmly slotting home from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia briefly threatened after the restart when Vladislavs Gutkovskis broke through on goal, but Ezri Konsa produced a perfectly timed sliding challenge to preserve England’s clean sheet.

Moments later, Tuchel’s men extended their advantage in fortuitous fashion as Djed Spence’s dangerous cross was turned into his own net by Andrejs Cigaņiks.

The hosts, to their credit, kept pushing and forced Jordan Pickford into a rare save through Eduards Dašķevičs, while Maksims Toņiševs also went close.

England had the final word, however, as Eberechi Eze added a fifth with a composed finish to cap a flawless night for the visitors.

For Tuchel, it was another statement of control and consistency in a campaign that has rarely seen England troubled. The Three Lions have now scored 17 goals and conceded none across their six qualifiers — but whether the German coach can finally guide them to glory next summer, ending nearly 60 years of hurt, remains the ultimate test.