Thomas Tuchel began his tenure as England manager with a comfortable pair of Wembley successes. Beating Albania and Latvia with an aggregate score of 5-0 represents an easy enough, if unspectacular beginning but the performances led to plenty of hope for the near future.
Firstly, Tuchel finds himself in a unique position of being well-off for full-backs. Even with Walker and Trippier ageing, the scoring return of Reece James was a major plus at right-back while Arsenal’s young left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly was outstanding.
It was only a couple of months ago that some commentators were saying Lewis Hall was the best they’d seen at a young age since Ashley Cole. He missed out through injury, while his Newcastle teammate Tino Livramento is also another one off the rank.
As for wingers Eze played well, and Gordon unfortunately got injured but has had a great year. Marcus Rashford has been rejuvenated at Aston Villa, but did he really take his chance?
In the middle Rice and Bellingham continue to prove their worth, but there’s more to come. Wharton played at the Euros but is now back in the under-21’s, while Newcastle’s Lewis Miley captained the under-19’s. Delap looks a natural successor to Harry Kane up front so with patience, there’s a lot of squad depth for Tuchel.
Simple Win to Begin Tuchel Era
It’s hard for us to measure performance against so-called “easy opposition”.
Lewis-Skelly and old dependable Harry Kane were goal scorers as Tuchel made a winning start with a 2-0 win against Albania. The result was expected, but there were some nice highs for the new boss.
The 18-year-old Lewis-Skelly made a great debut and showed no fear, even scoring on his bow within 20 minutes. Captain Harry Kane secured the win with his side’s second goal to give Tuchel his first three World Cup qualifying points.
Dan Burn was faultless again at the back, much as he was for Newcastle in the Carabao Cup Final. He scored for his club that day, and nearly did it again when hitting the crossbar. His coolness, though typical of him, also typified England’s performance under Tuchel.
Second Comfortable Win Against Latvia
With win number one achieved without fuss, the level of opposition was perhaps increased a tad when Latvia visited three days later. Marcus Rashford was again picked in the starting XI, even though Tuchel had criticised him for his performance against Albania.
Phil Foden dropped out after another lacklustre display – can any England manager work out where to play him? In fact, does he even need to get into the England team? Dan Burn also made way, while Reece James came in for his first England start in more than two years.
James in fact, much like Lewis-Skelly in the Albania game, knew exactly how to mark his performance with a goal. This time, it was a sublime free-kick from the Chelsea man into the top corner, giving his side the lead moments before half-time.
Harry Kane was quiet, though the Bayern Munich man yet again scored to put the game beyond doubt before Eberechi Eze scored a third after good work from Declan Rice and Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers.
Admittedly, there was no real test across these two games for the defenders. That being said, an ambitious side will be hoping their full-backs do as much attacking as defending and so on that score, Tuchel will be delighted with what he saw.
Many will say these two games were simple for England, but that misses the point. Thomas Tuchel’s men reportedly trained well as a group before making very light work of two teams across 180 minutes, scoring five goals in the process. That represents a solid start for the German tactician.
World Cup Qualifying Groups Taking Shape
After overseeing a satisfactory start as England’s manager, Thomas Tuchel discovered the remaining dates for his side’s 2026 World Cup qualifying games.
England have been drawn in Group K, a five-team group. Opposition comes from Albania, Andorra, Latvia and Serbia. While the Serbs will give England a fight, the Three Lions will be very heavy favourites to win the group and qualify automatically. Group stage match dates are:
England’s World Cup 2026 Qualifiers
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away |
|---|---|---|
| 21st March 2025 | Albania (2-0 win) | Home |
| 24th March 2025 | Latvia (3-0 win) | Home |
| 7th June 2025 | Andorra | Away |
| 6th September 2025 | Andorra | Home |
| 9th September 2025 | Serbia | Away |
| 14th October 2025 | Latvia | Home |
| 13th November 2025 | Serbia | Home |
| 16th November 2025 | Alvania | Away |