FOOTBALL
'We will get there' - Tuchel eyeing improvements despite perfect England start
Thomas Tuchel is still looking for improvements, insisting England "will get there" despite making a perfect start with two wins from his first two matches.
England cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Latvia on Tuesday, with Reece James and Eberechi Eze both scoring their first international goals on either side of Harry Kane's 71st strike for the Three Lions.
The hosts dominated proceedings, having 27 shots worth 3.53 expected goals (xG) while limiting Latvia to just three attempts as they kept a second consecutive clean sheet.
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England are now unbeaten (W35 D4) in their last 39 qualifying matches for major tournaments at home (Euros/World Cup), while Tuchel is the first permanent manager to win each of his first two competitive games in charge of England since Fabio Capello in September 2008 (won his first eight).
Apart from one big chance for Latvia – a mix-up between Jordan Pickford and Marc Guehi that led Vladislavs Gutkovskis to hit the side netting of an empty goal – England were in control, but Tuchel expects more improvements in the next international window.
"It was not an easy match. We saw a lot of good things, created good chances," Tuchel told ITV. "We needed a free-kick to unlock it. I'm happy with the attitude, energy and desire. We will get there.
"I know Reecey [James] and the quality the boy has is amazing. He has every right to be proud and happy with his performance. He is in excellent shape. He looks sharp, in shape and the quality there can be no doubt.
"The second half we started to slow the game down and made little movement, which makes no sense. But the second goal was better as we showed acceleration from one of our sixes [Declan Rice].
"We encourage everyone to have these late accelerations, but we struggled a bit until the goal."
— England (@England) March 24, 2025
James made his first start for England since September 2022 and marked his return with a stunning free-kick in the 38th minute.
He is the first defender to score a direct free-kick goal for England at Wembley Stadium since Stuart Pearce in November 1992 (v Turkiye).
Having returned to the set-up to reunite with his former Chelsea boss, James reflected on his first start in two-and-a-half years.
"It has been a long time, I have had a frustrating two years," he told ITV.
"I'm so happy to be called up by my country again. I saw the wall and felt I could bend it round. I was a bit surprised it hit the net.
"Thomas Tuchel's ideas are clear. We have one objective and that starts this week right up until the World Cup."
Some way to score your first England goal...@ReeceJames pic.twitter.com/NutUaXNeNh— England (@England) March 24, 2025
While James found the net for the first time for his country, Kane has now scored 17 goals in his last 17 international appearances at Wembley.
He is also playing under Tuchel again, having worked with him at Bayern Munich last season, and the England captain is delighted with the energy that he has brought.
"Overall we can be pleased with two wins and two clean sheets," he said.
"We had to be patient. Thomas Tuchel is fantastic, he has settled in straight away. He is a pleasure to work for, he has brought the passion."
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