Harry Kane netted a brace as England sealed its place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a commanding 5-0 win over Latvia on Tuesday, reported Xinhua.
Coach Thomas Tuchel made two changes from the side that defeated Wales, with Myles Lewis-Skelly coming in for Marc Guehi and captain Kane returning from injury to lead the attack.
The Three Lions thought they had taken an early lead when Kane found the net inside two minutes, but the flag was raised for offside. Moments later, the Bayern Munich striker missed a golden opportunity from close range.
England eventually broke through in the 26th minute when Anthony Gordon cut inside from the left and curled a fine effort into the far corner.
Kane soon made amends for his earlier misses, striking twice before halftime, first with a composed finish from the edge of the box in the 44th minute, and then a penalty deep into stoppage time following a VAR-confirmed handball.
Kane's double saw him surpass Nat Lofthouse's record for multi-goal games for England, having now scored more than once in a match on 13 occasions.
Latvia's defensive resilience crumbled in the 58th minute when Maksims Tonisevs conceded an own goal, before England substitute Eberechi Eze added the finishing touch late on, drilling home a low shot to complete the rout.
With the win, England maintains its perfect record in six qualifiers, sitting top of Group K with 18 points, seven ahead of second-placed Albania, confirming its ticket to next year's World Cup with two matches remaining.
Also in Group K, Serbia cruised past Andorra 3-1 to sit third in the group with 10 points.
In Group F, Portugal missed the chance to qualify early after Dominik Szoboszlai's stoppage-time strike earned Hungary a 2-2 draw, while Ireland edged 10-man Armenia 1-0. Portugal leads the group with 10 points, followed by Hungary on five.
In Group I, Mateo Retegui scored twice as Italy sailed past Israel 3-0, and Estonia and Moldova played out a 1-1 draw.
Meanwhile, Spain dominated Bulgaria 4-0 in Group E, with Mikel Merino's two headers sealing a comfortable victory for the reigning European champions, while Türkiye outplayed Georgia 4-1.
In Asia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia became the latest two Asian teams to have secured 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification on Tuesday.
Six teams were divided into two groups in the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers, with group winners directly qualifying for the World Cup.
Having beaten Oman 2-1 in Group A last Saturday, the United Arab Emirates could qualify with a draw against Qatar, which had played out a 0-0 stalemate with Oman last week.
After a goalless first half, the 2022 World Cup host went ahead straight after the break, when Akram Afif's free kick was headed home by Boualem Khoukhi, before Pedro Miguel made it 2-0 from another Afif assist in the 74th minute.
Qatar was reduced to ten men when Tarek Salman saw red in the 89th minute. The UAE then pulled one back in stoppage time, setting up a tense finale, but Qatar held its nerve to secure its second World Cup finals appearance.
Elsewhere, in a head-to-head for the top spot of Group B, Saudi Arabia only needed a draw against Iraq to qualify by virtue of having scored more goals against the group's other team, Indonesia.
Despite dominating possession and having a series of goalscoring opportunities, Saudi Arabia failed to break Iraq's defense, while the latter also saw an injury-time free kick saved by goalkeeper Nawaf Al Aqidi. A 0-0 result took Saudi Arabia to its third consecutive World Cup and its seventh overall.
Iraq and the UAE now face each other in a two-legged playoff next month, with the winner advancing into the inter-confederation playoffs in March 2026.
- England
- Saudi Arabia
- Qatar
- Qualify
- WC
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
