England

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England forward Anthony Gordon, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live: "Amazing. It is something I have dreamed of as a kid. Probably didn't hit me till I got into the changing room and saw everyone celebrating.

"I think definitely in the last three performances they have been my best for England. I still feel like I can do more. If I want to be a top elite world level winger, I have got loads more to do.

"I'm not scared of competition. It pushes me to be better, it pushes us all to be better.

"Every young lad dreams of playing in a World Cup for England."

England

England captain Harry Kane, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live: "It was a great game from us. I spoke before about building momentum. Another great camp - we can be proud to qualify with two games to spare - it's never as easy as it looks. Another tournament to look forward to.

"After the Serbia game, I spoke to the group about building the momentum that we are feeling together. It is important to keep that ball rolling. There is still two big games in that November camp. Every moment counts - it is about building something special. We have been doing that over the last few camps.

"I think America next summer will be special, and we will feel that. Never take these moments for granted.

"Sometimes it sounds like you're taking a high risk. Sometimes, if you do it early and win the ball back early, you're the one who has a lot of possession.

"We want to be an aggressive team, and we are going to come up against tougher tests and better teams, so all of this is great practice for when that comes."

Conor Coady
Former England defender on BBC Football Daily

Straightforward win as we expected but you've still got to go and do the business. You've still got to go and perform and score goals and do things the right way and I thought England were fantastic.

What I loved most was the reaction when they lost ball, the professionalism to go and win the ball back - there were always four or five bodies around the ball to go and win it back and start another attack.

I loved the substitutions after 4-0. I thought at 4-0, if you keep the same players on the pitch it can just drop a little bit because the game is won but, all of sudden you bring players on the pitch who want to score and see opportunities to score and we've seen the goals that were added near the end of the game so really professional from England.

It's been a brilliant qualifying campaign.

England

England boss Thomas Tuchel, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live: "It is never easy, even if it looks easy. We put a lot of work in. They played with a lot of short passes, and we expected more long balls, but the reaction was good.

"Another excellent team performance. It is a special moment – it rarely comes that you qualify for a World Cup.

"The mood is very good and it is all smiles and music. It is a moment to enjoy.

"It means a lot and it is different. You cannot create it artificially. It is beautiful to see what it means to the players. The way we won, first of all, gives us a lot of satisfaction. Six wins and six clean sheets. We are there. It is a special evening. You can feel it in the staff and the players."

Paul Birch
BBC Sport

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England's victory has extended their unbeaten run in World Cup qualifiers to 37 matches, lifting the Three Lions into outright second on the all-time Uefa list.

However, they are still a long way off catching Spain, who went an incredible 66 World Cup qualifiers without a loss between 1993 and 2021. Their run of 52 wins and 14 draws was finally ended by Sweden.

England last lost a qualifying match for a World Cup back in October 2009 against Ukraine and have won 29 and drawn eight of their 37 games since. They have only lost a total of four World Cup qualifiers in the past 30 years, while their last defeat in a Euros qualifier was away at Czech Republic in October 2019.

Belgium are not far behind England, their victory over Wales on Monday took them to 34 World Cup qualifiers without defeat. If you include the European Championship, their unbeaten streak in qualifiers across the two tournaments is a very impressive 56 games dating back to 2015.

England

England boss Thomas Tuchel, speaking to ITV Sport: "Brilliant. Such a good mood in the dressing room. It feels very different because it is our dream to go to America and now we made it with another good performance and top result. Very happy.

"We are dominant in games, we are hungry. We have a lot of ball wins in the opponent's half. It is good. We are on our way.

"It is a club feel because we play very aggressive with a high press. It is a very physical game. Everyone needs to buy into the idea because otherwise you cannot press so high. The guys train on a high level and the group is a very good group and it is a pleasure to coach them. Step by step we are getting there."

On the fans: "I got some stick in the first half but fair enough and well done, good sense of humour and no problem. It was brilliant support from start to finish."

On Harry Kane and being up there with best strikers he's coached: "He is on top of the list. He is in top shape mentally and physically and full of confidence."

Ben Ramsdale
BBC Sport

You'll never sing that...

England

Portugal were held 2-2 by Hungary on Tuesday evening. That means England are the first European team to qualify for next summer's World Cup.

Image source, Getty Images

England

Image source, Getty Images

England boss Thomas Tuchel, speaking in the post-match news conference: "We had in the group six matches and we won all six and we didn't concede a goal. It's a special moment. We stepped up in the last two camps."

On whether he will make changes for England's final two group games: "Now we know we're qualified I'm not sure if this changes anything in the nomination process. Now is the moment to enjoy it, you can feel it in the dressing room. It's a very special moment and it's not a daily thing that we qualify for the World Cup and we did that today. Harry [Kane] just gave a speech where he said everyone will be ready to keep this going in November and no-one will take this for granted.

"Maybe it will give us the chance to try stuff, but we will stay competitive and we want to win both matches. We owe it to ourselves and owe it to our fans. We need to keep going and what we are building is very precious and we will keep building."

Sami Mokbel
BBC Sport Senior football correspondent

• Jordan Pickford – Pulled off a couple of good saves in the second half to maintain his impressive clean sheet record. That's nine in a row now. 6.5
• Djed Spence – Has taken to international football like a duck to water. Sterner tests lie ahead, of course, but a good start to his England career. 7
• John Stones – Two games in five days will do the Manchester City defender a world of good. Still one of the first names on the team-sheet, fitness permitting. 7
• Ezri Konza – Selected ahead of Marc Guehi and didn't put a foot wrong. Made an excellent last-ditch recovery tackle in the second half to boot. 7
• Myles Lewis-Skelly – Looked a little ring rusty at times, understandable given his lack of action at Arsenal. An interesting few months ahead. 6
• Elliott Anderson – Looks undroppable in this England team at the moment. Looks made for this level and has struck up an excellent partnership with Rice. 7
• Declan Rice – Enjoying his nuumber eight role. The mainstay of England's midfield is showing his attacking abilities now. Emerging us a genuine all-round midfielder. 7
• Morgan Rogers – Not as impactful as he has been in England's victories over Serbia and Wales. We should find out next month who is the true owner of the number 10 shirt. 6
• Bukayo Saka – Added an assist to his excellent goal against Wales last Thursday. Will be crucial to England's chances next summer. 7.5
• Harry Kane – In the form of his life. Took his tally for the season to 20 goals. Has hit the back of the net 76 times for his country. Can he reach 100? 8
• Anthony Gordon – Sharp finish to get the ball rolling for England here in Riga. Has acquitted himself well during this international window. 7.5

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer

England confirmed their qualification for next summer's World Cup by overwhelming Latvia in Riga.

Thomas Tuchel's side needed victory to assure their place in the showpiece, the outcome never in doubt as England outclassed a Latvian side ranked 137th in the world.

Amid the celebrations, it was at times an uncomfortable night for Tuchel, who felt anger and frustration from England's travelling fans as they chanted sarcastically, and loudly, in response to the head coach's criticism of "silent" supporters after the friendly against Wales at Wembley.

The bigger picture, however, reveals that England qualified with two games to spare after a flawless first campaign for Tuchel, who succeeded Sir Gareth Southgate in January.

Anthony Gordon put England ahead after 26 minutes with a low, curling finish and captain Harry Kane scored twice more before the interval, first with a strike from the edge of the area then from the spot after his shirt was pulled.

England added a fourth just before the hour when Latvia's Andrejs Ciganiks bundled Djed Spence's cross into his own net.

Substitute Eberechi Eze further emphasised England's dominance with a dribble and low finish to make it 5-0 after 86 minutes.

Good morning!

Job done indeed it is for Thomas Tuchel and England.

The 5-0 win over Latvia has secured the Three Lions' place at the 2026 World Cup.

We'll be checking out all the best bits from that victory today and we want your reaction off the bat so click 'Get Involved' at the top of the page to send in your thoughts.

First up, for those that missed it, a reminder of how last night unfolded...