England comfortably beat Latvia
In the end it was rather like shelling peas, a piece of cake or any other culinary offer of your choice. England have once again qualified for the World Cup and, not for the first time, it was easy as pie, a stroll in the park. Invariably, England always treat World Cup and Euros qualifiers as a simple formality, a predictable sequence of events that always lead to the smoothest progression to both summer tournaments.
Last night was no different. England could have beaten Latvia blindfolded and still beaten them in convincing style. There is a big argument here for radically changing the whole format of these competitions. Had it occurred to anybody in the highest circles of FIFA that England are playing patsies, lightweight nonentities, poor opposition with barely a flicker of resistance or fighting spirit about them. The realisation may dawn on the decision makers that this is far too easy and England may just as well pour themselves a glass of brandy and light up a cigar when confronted by these teams.
And so we had the same old scenario. For Latvia last night, read the likes of Luxembourg and Turkey who always provided England with absolutely nothing to worry about on the night. You were reminded of bowling skittles being toppled over and those final scores which had the air of a rugby league match about them. There were eight or nine goal defeats, heavy poundings and the sense here that whenever England met both Luxembourg or Turkey, there would be a ravishing feast to tuck into with an almost sadistic relish.
England have now qualified for next summer's World Cup jamboree in the USA, Mexico and Canada with two remaining games to go before finishing their group qualifiers. Down the years, England have just turned up on the night, gone through the motions and just won their group by a country mile. One day we may be faced by a genuinely demanding, punishing and gruelling set of fixtures before a major tournament but certainly not now because we could have foreseen how everything would pan out.
As things stand now though, England will be distributed with their boarding tickets for the plane to North America next summer. Their hotels and training camps are being organised and everything is once again hunky dory within the England international team. The trouble is that the national team have been lulled into a false sense of security, maybe a false sense of perception of who they really are. In the end, Latvia were quite definitely chasing white shadows.
Even the picturesque setting of Latvia's tree lined ground couldn't disguise the harsh outlines of this contest. England were head and shoulders above Latvia, a class of their own and by the hour, England were cruising in serene waters, gliding along smooth canals metaphorically of course and just enjoying themselves enormously because Latvia were more or less invisible and anonymous. They almost seemed to get lost in a confusing labyrinth of mazy England patterns and rhythms. If anybody did see Latvia reaching the centre circle then it must have been a figment of their imagination.
The wonder was that it took Thomas Tuchel's England had taken too long to open the scoring. England were weaving and stitching passing movements at their leisure. For the first 20 minutes or so, England had taken their foot off their accelerator, reverted back to first gear and simply familiarised themselves with each other when there was never any need for it. There were sweet, close passing manoeuvres, the neat intricacies, the subtleties, the conspiracy and collusion of passes, the kind of football many of us have been longing for and never really got.
It was only through the recent tenure of Gareth Southgate when things began to really lift off. There was a sudden recognition that England were going nowhere fast. There had be a real identity, team bonding, camaraderie, a welcome unity and freedom of expression. England were pulling together, discovering a renewed sense of comfort on the ball, eating and drinking together and never afraid to indulge in fancy dan, elaborate passing triangles, careful and patient approach work from the back. We too could play like Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil or Argentina. We too could take our football in radically new and different directions.
Of course England have lost two successive Euros Final against respectively Italy and Spain but there is a new feeling about the team, an excitement in the air. When the World Cup does come around next summer, they may well need permission from Donald Trump to be the centre of attention rather than the President of the United States hogging the limelight. This is going to be another World Cup of surprises and shocks but England go into the tournament quietly confident of surpassing expectations. But we have been here before on innumerable occasions and we have been to quarter and semi final stages and even major Finals. And we have fallen short, failed agonisingly and that must hurt at times.
Now though England will be getting their glad rags on, packing their suitcases with the usual assortment of beach shirts, flip flops and, quite possibly, garish shorts depicting the Stars and Stripes. It was 55 years ago when Sir Alf Ramsey's England gathered around a swimming pool in Mexico wearing Fred Perry shirts and started playing another game of cards. The air of entitlement and presumption was there for all to see. England thought they'd literally rule the world but then saw Gerd Muller in their mirror, a helpless Peter Bonetti in goal and a dreadful 3-2 defeat against West Germany during the 1970 World Cup Finals.
We can only hope that another vanity project will not hamper the England team when things look distinctly promising and good. For long periods of last night's World Cup qualifier, England were waltzing the night away, teasing and taunting, tormenting and just toying with Latvia. This was not a proper contest since Latvia were just wandering around dense forests like lost souls. England helped themselves gleefully with the main meal before devouring seconds and then the dessert. At times the embarrassment could be palpably felt and by the end of the game were just flicking rain drops from their foreheads. It was just another day at the office.
Once again the marvellous John Stones, stepped out of his defensive role with the authority of an experienced veteran who had seen it all before. Ezra Konsa and Myles Lewis Skelly of Arsenal were almost completely under employed. England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford could almost have put up his feet on a chaise longue, curled up with a good book and then just dropped grapes into his mouth. Both Djed Spence, a firm, solid and adventurous figure at the back and the ever reliable Declan Rice were sitting on their ottomans, lying casually in front of England's back four and waiting for another glass of wine.
In front of Stones, Rice, Skelly and Spence England were compiling yet another simple plan of action, shifting forwards and backwards steadily and surely, drawing round circles around the home side. Then England began to pick out their most influential players. There were short, sharp passes, passes that had a refinement and breeding about them. The final pass to Bukayo Saka of Arsenal and Elliot Anderson, who had another impressive outing for England, literally touched a chord with many of us. England are building, brick by brick, to some extent rationalising with their weaknesses and concentrating deeply on their strengths.
England brought back Elliot Anderson into first team action and Morgan Rogers was a dynamic revelation, prompting and probing, finding his colleagues with laser like accuracy. Aston Villa must feel so honoured to have a player like Rogers in their squad. Anthony Gordon, who could take up full time residence on the wing as a traditional winger, had another superb game. Gordon it was ironically who gave England the lead.
The Newcastle winger now looking the real deal and an established figure in England's slowly prospering group, ran intelligently into space from a floated ball over the top from England's bank vault of a defence. Gordon kept up his forward momentum going, coaxing the ball towards himself before checking back inside his defender adroitly and firing a shot that flew into the back of the net. 1-0 after 26 minutes and there was plenty of time for England to inflict even more damage on a brittle Latvian defence.
Then Harry Kane, picking up a loose ball resulting from a panicked clearance in the Latvian defence, took the ball down at his feet and swiftly steered a firmly driven shot that was unstoppable. The second England goal had really taken the stuffing out of the home side. England's football had a delicious superiority, upper class haughtiness, gentle gentility about it and a commanding authority. England are learning well from the rest of their European neighbours and know exactly what to do when in possession. The short passing game is not a mystery or, in the eyes of experts who profess to know about these things, rocket science.
Shortly before half time, an England corner was lofted into the Latvian penalty area, and, although it happened quickly, a Latvia hand was in the wrong place at the wrong time and after a VAR deliberation, Harry Kane, captain Marvel, was on hand to blast home the third goal for the penalty. England didn't need to do anymore since the contest was no longer a competitive one. The second half for Thomas Tuchel felt as if somebody had taken the batteries out of it. England were home and hosed.
England's fourth goal was reminiscent of a quiet country lane after the farmers had gone home and the cows had returned for a late night snack. The atmosphere inside the ground had vanished and it reminded you of a municipal park cloaked in darkness. If only the park keeper had known they would have locked up ages before this game. Spence curled the ball into the penalty area and Andrejs Cigankis unintentionally prodded the ball into his own net for number four.
The West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen who will almost certainly figure prominently in England's plans next summer, snatched the ball away from a maroon Latvian shirt. Bowen, quick witted and innovative, nicked the ball into the path of Ebereche Eze, the vastly talented Arsenal midfielder who characteristically tricked his way beyond flailing legs before ramming home England's fifth goal on the evening.
England now face concluding World Cup skirmishes against Albania and Serbia but America, Mexico and Canada is, hopefully, their World Cup treasure trove odyssey next summer. We are at the gates of world football's most prestigious international summer tournament. It is hard to form any judgment or opinion at the moment and predictions are worthless. England are back at the heart of world football's discussion table and the story is incomplete but you never know.
Their critics don't give them a chance while the eternal optimists are ready to throw gallons of lager into the air if the pub manager gives them the nod. There is not even the remotest sign of celebration at the moment because football and the national team knows this territory like the back of their hands. It could be a historic and iconic summer but now the jury may be out for quite a while. The spectre of defeat looms over England but it will be coming home next year. At long last.
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