England’s head coach Thomas Tuchel heaped praise on his players after their 5-0 win over Latvia sealed automatic qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With the result came assurance of Group K dominance and a 100% record so far in qualifying.
“Brilliant, such a good mood in the dressing room,” Tuchel said. “It feels very different because it’s our dream to go to [North] America and now we’ve made it, another good performance and a top result. We now have six wins and six clean sheets so we’re very happy.
“We’re dominant in games, we’re hungry, we invest against the ball, we have a lot of ball wins in the opponent’s half,” he explained.
“You look at our last goal, Harry Kane controlled the way back in his own half after a mistake from a teammate, helps defend the ball and wins the ball for the goal for Ebs.”
To Tuchel, the most rewarding aspect of the campaign has been the internal competition and the unity within the squad.
“It’s a club feel because we play very aggressive, we play a high press. It’s a very physical game that we play. It’s very demanding but it gets everyone going.
“Everyone needs to go and buy into the idea because otherwise we can’t press so high so we have a lot of ball wins. The guys train on a high level and the group is a very good group. It’s a pleasure to coach them. That’s the result, it’s step by step and we’re getting there.”
With the World Cup ticket secured, Tuchel’s attention will now turn to maintaining momentum, refining tactics, and keeping standards high as The Three Lions build toward next summer.
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