England comfortably sealed their place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a convincing 5–0 win over Latvia at the Daugava Stadium in Riga on Tuesday, October 14, 2025. The result, played under steady rain and in front of a small but noisy 10,000-capacity crowd, confirmed the Three Lions’ qualification with two games to spare and maintained their spotless record in Group K just as Softfootball accurately predicted in the pre-game preview.
It was Anthony Gordon who got things going in the 26th minute, latching onto a long ball from John Stones before cutting inside to curl a sweet strike beyond Latvia’s keeper, Krisjanis Zviedris. The goal set the tone for what quickly became another routine night for England.
Harry Kane then stole the show before halftime, scoring twice in classic fashion. His first, in the 44th minute, came from the edge of the box, a clean, low drive that zipped through defenders and straight into the corner. Moments later, he was brought down by Antonijs Cernomordijs during a corner scramble, stepped up, and calmly converted the penalty. That took his international tally to 76 goals, drawing applause even from a few Latvian fans in the stands.
England posted a video via their official X handle of how much the result meant to the England players.
Watch the video below:
England, clearly in a mood, didn’t slow down after the break. They kept the ball, pressed high, and controlled the game till the final whistle, a professional job done. The team’s sixth consecutive clean sheet also showed how tight Thomas Tuchel’s defensive setup has become.
But as much as the football did the talking, it was the fans who carried the energy after the final whistle. English supporters flooded social media with reactions that mixed joy, sarcasm, and good old-fashioned football banter.
Pete Crowther @thechelskikid on X, was quick to defend the travelling supporters who made the midweek journey to Latvia, clearly annoyed at critics who tried to play down their passion:
Calling out England fans who have travelled all the way to Latvia on a Wednesday and sang all game is absolutely nuts! They were bantering with Tuchel ffs! Our away support is superb!
On the other hand, AorE @AorE92900768 on X, wasn’t impressed by the level of competition England has faced in the qualifiers, suggesting the path to qualification had been too easy:
What an easy group they had. Teams like Andorra, Latvia, Albania, Serbia are no challenge. England always seem to have an easy group.
Another user, DB @DB_247 on X, took aim at the English media’s tendency to hype results beyond reason a familiar frustration for long-time fans:
Oh john. We beat Latvia and your headline is we can get to the final. It’s not England fans that are arrogant, it’s the media! When will u learn.
Meanwhile, Bane @bane_sol on X didn’t hold back in mocking England’s opponents, implying Latvia were there only to fill the fixture list:
“Latvia and Bulgaria showed up just to collect goals.”
The Tennis Porker @TheTennisPorker on X added his own reality check, reminding fellow fans that results like these shouldn’t come as a surprise:
Well, England shouldn’t really concede against the likes of Andorra, Albania, Latvia and Serbia.
There was even a playful jab directed at Thomas Tuchel, with away fans chanting, “Are we loud enough for you?!” — a cheeky response to his earlier comments about Wembley’s quiet atmosphere during the match against Wales.
England are through, unbeaten and buzzing, but the mood among supporters remains balanced — proud, yet cautious. As one would expect, the real test starts when they face teams that bite back.
