In this article…
England v Latvia
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Kick Off: Monday 24th March at 19:45
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Competition: World Cup 2026 Qualifiers
Thomas Tuchel takes charge of his second game as England manager in welcoming Latvia under the arch at Wembley Stadium. The Three Lions saw off Albania in their opening qualifying game, running out 2-0 winners thanks to goals from Myles Lewis-Skelly and Harry Kane.
Latvia got their qualification period off to a positive start with a 1-0 win over Andorra. Aside from England, this group is quite open and is likely to be fought competitively right down to the last game. Latvia face a real uphill battle here with 136 FIFA rankings separating these sides.
⭐ England v Latvia Best Bet
Bellingham picked up the assist for Myles Lewis Shelly’s opener in England’s opening qualification game against Albania. Thomas Tuchel has recognised the benefit of playing Bellingham in an advanced role in which he can impact the game in the final third as he showed through his clever ball in behind the Albania backline.
Bellingham was brought down twice in that game, contesting nine duels in total. Albania only committed seven fouls in the game but two of these being on Bellingham shows that even in games where the foul count is low, Bellingham has the ability to win fouls with his power in driving through central areas.
Latvia are likely to go with a similar approach to Albania in looking to make the central areas very congested, not allowing England to play directly through them. This should see Bellingham constantly surrounded by bodies which will directly increase the chances of him being hauled down to the ground.
Bellingham is averaging 2.39 fouls won per 90 across his 22 La Liga appearances this season showing that his ability to win fouls is something that remains consistent over a larger sample size. He also averaged 3.60 fouls won per 90 across his four appearances for England in the Nations League last year.
👕 England v Latvia Predicted XI
🔍 England v Latvia Players to Watch
🟤 Aleksejs Saveljevs
Saveljevs sits right at the heart of Latvia’s midfield and is in pole position to make a foul early on here. Latvia line up in a 3-4-3 shape but expect this to become more of a five considering that they are playing one of the top five teams in the FIFA World Rankings.
Saveljevs committed two fouls in Latvia’s win over Andorra in their opening qualification match and will be up against Jude Bellingham who was fouled twice in England’s opening game and is averaging 2.39 fouls won per 90 in LaLiga this season.
📂 England v Latvia Cheat Sheet
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For more tips ahead of England’s first fixture this international break take a look at our England Tactics under Tuchel for Hit Rate tips on each squad member.
We’ve also got our World Cup Qualifiers Acca this weekend and have got you covered for all the international action with our Macedonia v Wales Betting Predictions and Macedonia v Wales Bet Builder Tips. You can find all of Andy’s Football Tips here.
💻 England v Latvia Form and Tactics
It’s still early days in Thomas Tuchel’s reign but the former Chelsea boss was quite stark in his analysis following the opening qualification game, claiming that he knows his side ‘have to be better’. He made particular reference to Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford in the wide areas stating that his England side didn’t get the ball forward quickly enough to their wide players which forced them to go backward instead of taking on their man directly.
This honesty is quite refreshing from an England manager and perhaps a sign that he’s still moving this squad away from Gareth Southgate’s style of football. England were bright in midfield areas, Rice and Jones formed a solid partnership that was hard for Albania to break down and also effectively platformed Jude Bellingham who picked up an assist for England’s opener.
Latvia will be elated with their start to the qualification campaign in seeing off Andorra in the opening game but this represents an entirely different challenge. Latvia have never faced England before making this a historic occasion to the away side and it’s likely that they get swept up in the moment with their only chance of getting something from this game being to sit in a low block and pray England don’t find a way through.
There is a significant gap in quality between these national sides which should be reflected on the pitch. England have the luxury of a deep squad so expect some rotation from Tuchel as he attempts to find the best balance for this team, these qualifiers are quite a good opportunity to experiment with different systems and personnel seeing as England will be heavy favourites in the majority of games.
🏁 England v Latvia Ref Watch
- Referee: Orel Grinfeld
| Average Cards (Y / R) | 4.38 / 0.42 |
| Fouls Given | N/A |
| Penalties | 0.38 |
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* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
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