England’s path to 2026 World Cup qualification

Another three points came just days later, with a more convincing performance that saw Reece James net a stunning free-kick on his first international start in over two years before Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze added to the scoreline in the second half.

It wasn’t perfect though, and the Three Lions had narrowly avoided conceding early on when poor communication between Marc Guehi and Jordan Pickford allowed Vladislavs Gutkovskis to bear down on goal, although the Latvian forward couldn’t make the most of the effort.

Still, Tuchel was happy with what he’d seen from his players, and stressed that “not everything falls into place from the first minute.

“There is room to improve but overall [we’ve got] two twins and two clean sheets. We did not allow any big chances in two matches. A lot of positives but room to improve. A good start,” he assessed.

Andorra 0-1 England

Looking to maintain pole position in Group K, the Three Lions travelled to face Andorra at the RCDE Stadium just outside of Barcelona. There, they kept another clean sheet and picked up another three points – but they were certainly made to work for it.

To say that England looked sloppy is perhaps the nicest way of wording it. They created the better chances in the first half, but after a long Premier League campaign, simple passes were often sent wayward and crosses rarely met their intended target. Harry Kane’s 450th career goal was the only moment of the game that warranted celebration, as a sizeable travelling crowd instead turned their attention to singing the praises of Andorra defender Ian Olivera.

It was a bizarre evening in Catalunya, and one that most would be in no rush to relive. At least it was just a qualifier though, right?

England 2-0 Andorra

After a disappointing friendly defeat to Senegal, England returned to World Cup qualifying action in September at Villa Park, where they extended their unbeaten run in the competition to four games and kept yet another clean sheet.

Despite conceding an own goal within the opening thirty minutes when Christian Garcia nodded a Noni Madueke cross past his own goalkeeper, Andorra’s stubborn defence stifled England for much of the game until Declan Rice met a Reece James delivery at the back post to double the Three Lions’ lead.

But again, it was a rather uninspiring performance from England. In two games against Andorra, a nation with a population similar to that of Scunthorpe, the Three Lions had managed to find the back of the net just thrice. They had lacked creativity, they had lacked the end product, and they certainly hadn’t managed to properly get the fans behind them.

Serbia 0-5 England

September’s five-goal thrashing of Serbia looked to be a turning point for Thomas Tuchel’s men, though. It took just over thirty minutes for Harry Kane to open the scoring, and England didn’t really look back from that point onwards as Noni Madueke bagged his first senior goal for the Three Lions two minutes later.

Serbia – billed by many ahead of the game as the toughest test England would face throughout their qualifying campaign – were rendered unable to fight back and instead fell further behind after the break when Ezri Konsa bagged his first senior international goal. His defensive partner, Marc Guehi, added another before Marcus Rashford netted a penalty in the final minutes of play.

It was a performance that cut a stark contrast to the drab display against Andorra just days prior. England played on the front foot with flair and with purpose, and did not look to be at all threatened by a Serbian side that had been hyped up in the buildup to the match.

All in all, it was a pretty perfect result for the Three Lions – and one that gave credence to Thomas Tuchel after an uninspiring start to life as England boss.

Latvia 0-5 England

England sealed their qualification for the 2026 World Cup with a five-star performance against Latvia, just days after Thomas Tuchel criticised the atmosphere at Wembley during a friendly victory against Wales and labelled the home faithful as “silent” for much of the clash.

His comments were met with disdain by a vocal group of travelling supporters in Riga, who bore witness to a dominant performance against a side ranked 173rd in the world as England booked their ticket to North America with two games to spare.

Anthony Gordon’s curling strike just before the half-hour mark put England in control and a brace from Harry Kane had removed any doubt about the result before the interval, with an own goal and then an Eberechi Eze finish wrapping up a five-goal thrashing of the minnows.

More importantly, the result proved that September’s result against Serbia wasn’t just a one-off. England were capable of playing good football and getting the goals to show for it – all without sacrificing defensive stability – and while they hadn’t been handed the toughest qualification group, you can only beat what’s in front of you.

England 2-0 Serbia

The Three Lions continued their unbeaten qualifying campaign in November as they kept yet another clean sheet in a 2-0 victory against Serbia, with Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze netting the goals on a rather wet evening in the English capital.

As expected, Thomas Tuchel used the first of England’s dead-rubber matches to offer a senior international debut to Nico O’Reilly – but it was, for the most part, a full-strength side that also welcomed the return of Adam Wharton for the first time in over a year as he made a late cameo appearance from the bench.

It will have left Tuchel feeling rather uplifted, as his side marched on towards the World Cup still unbeaten – and still yet to concede a single goal during the World Cup qualifiers.

Albania 0-2 England

As Thomas Tuchel made seven changes to the side that beat Serbia just days prior, it was the ever-present Harry Kane whose brace in Tirana secured another victory for England.

It wasn’t the most convincing of wins, although it allowed Tuchel a valuable opportunity to experiment ahead of the 2026 World Cup. John Stones’ positioning was notably flexible in possession, while Jarell Quansah became the seventh player to win his first senior England cap under the German manager.

The victory also affirmed that Tuchel’s tactical nous extends to well-timed substitutions – something that his predecessor had come under constant fire for in the latter stages of his tenure. Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford were both subbed on in the second half, each going on to provide an assist for frontman Kane.