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.