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England ratings: Frustrated Jude Bellingham very fortunate not to see red as Reece James has return to remember
REECE JAMES broke a 33-year record held by Stuart Pearce as England sunk Latvia 3-0 in their second World Cup qualifier.
James became the first defender to score a direct free kick for England at Wembley since Pearce against Turkey way back in 1992.
James didn’t celebrate – perhaps something to do with the fan reaction to him playing last week.
Before England’s top goal-getter Harry Kane notched his 71st international strike from Declan Rice’s squared ball.
With Latvia tiring and trying to push up the pitch, England carved them open for Eberechi Eze’s deflected strike saw him score his first for England, too.
Here’s how SunSport’s Alex Smith rated the Three Lions in their final World Cup qualifying match before September.
Jordan Pickford – 5
Only really had one thing to do and made a mess of it. Didn’t really need to sprint out of his goal.
Clearly a lack of communication with Marc Guehi and Latvia should have gone 1-0 up.
Could have got his deck chair out for most of the game. In typical Pickford fashion though, still constantly barking orders to those in front of him.
Reece James – 8
An outstanding free-kick that brought audible gasps from the Wembley crowd when replayed on the big screens.
It was a timely reminder of his quality after recent seasons were ruined by injury.
Tucked into a back at times, looking comfortable with the ball at his feet and had the recovery pace to produce a great sliding tackle in the second-half.
Ezri Konsa – 7
Looking more and more settled in an England shirt.
Nice dribble out from the defence when he saw the space and was physical with the Latvia centre-forward.
Deserves more chances ahead of the World Cup against stronger sides to see if he can nail down the spot.
Marc Guehi – 5
Usually looks so composed at the back for the Three Lions but had a night to forget.
A horror mix-up with Jordan Pickford presented the visitors with a golden chance to score, only for them to somehow miss an open goal and spare Guehi’s blushes.
Thankfully, it was Vladislavs Gutkovskis and not Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland.
Also made a rush challenge in the first-half and got pressured into running the ball out of play after failing to deal with a hopeful punt up the pitch.
Myles Lewis-Skelly – 7
It was a dream debut for the Arsenal wonderkid on Friday night, capping his debut with a goal.
It was always going to be impossible to match the heights of the last game, but he was still impressive when drifting into midfield versus Latvia.
Brilliant close control, winning free-kicks and gets stuck in as usual. A top talent.
Declan Rice – 7
A simple yet effective performance in midfield. England had the ball for long periods but when Latia regained possession he was often there to break up play.
Runs from deep are important to break down deep defences and he did that to set up Kane for his simple finish with a smart ball across the goal, putting it on a plate.
Jude Bellingham – 5
Was lucky to avoid a second yellow card after a wild and unnecessary lunge.
Real Madrid star eventually subbed off early to prevent England from going down to ten-men. Needs to control the aggression or could end up costing his side in important moments.
Showed his undoubted quality on the ball with some wonderful touches and never ducks a 50/50.
Jarrod Bowen – 6
Worked hard but didn’t quite take his chance with Bukayo Saka out injured.
Some decent moments but did not have the creativity to unlock a deep and stubborn Latvia defence.
Bowen is way more effective when he has space to run into. Suits playing against stronger sides that will go toe-to-toe with England.
Morgan Rogers – 7
Making his first England start after three previous substitute appearances.
A delight to watch when working in tight spaces and seemingly impossible to knock off the ball.
Picked up positive positions and always wanted to receive the ball but will be disappointed not to score or assist.
Marcus Rashford – 6
Tuchel said his performance against Albania lacked “impact” and was “not aggressive enough.
He clearly took the criticism on board and was more direct tonight, looking to take defenders on with a burst of acceleration and doing so regularly.
But the final ball was lacking with crosses either overcooked or hit into a Latvian defender, which started to become frustrating.
Harry Kane – 6
A real passenger for much of the game despite his goal. Rarely threatened and was crowded out by the Latvian defence.
Began to pick up the ball in better areas in the final 30 minutes and eventually showed why he is a natural goalscorer with nice movement for the tap-in.
SUBS
Eberechi Eze (for Bowen ’60) –
A real bright spark when he came on and got a deserved goal.
His trickery caused havoc for Latvia and his ability to go either way helped wrap up the game.
Phil Foden (for Bellingham ’67) –
Not on the wing this time. Hooray!
Looks better in the No10 role but besides some tidy passes did not do much.
His run of not scoring or assisting for England since 2023 continues.
Jordan Henderson (for Rice ’79)
Another cap to add to his collection. Bossed his team-mates around to help see the game out.
If he continues to make Tuchel’s squads, that will be as far as his role goes.
Curtis Jones (for Rashford ’79)
No real time to impact the game with it all wrapped up by the time he came on for a stroll in the park.
Kyle Walker (for Lewis-Skelly)
Did nothing wrong but like Henderson, is an ageing player the answer given all England’s young talent worth it.
Give the ten minutes to the future.
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England 3 Latvia 0: Reece James spares Tuchel’s blushes as Three Lions labour to win over minnows ranked 140th in world
REECE JAMES saved Thomas Tuchel from a seriously uncomfortable night by bending home a David Beckham-esque free-kick on his England return.
And referee Orel Grinfeeld rescued Jude Bellingham from disgrace as he allowed the Real Madrid Galactico to escape a needless second yellow card.
https://twitter.com/itvfootball/status/1904268454435184931
As England laboured against the 140th best national team in the world and the Latvia penalty box resembled an extension of the London congestion zone, Chelsea full-back James ended years of injury torment with a spectacular 25-yard opener.
James had been Tuchel’s man of the match with an outstanding marking job on Raheem Sterling when his side defeated Manchester City in the 2021 Champions League Final.
But since then he has suffered an extraordinary run of injuries and had not started a match for England since September 2022.
Yet James lit up Wembley with a dead-ball effort which out-bent Beckham and rivalled the famous ‘banana kick’ effort by Brazilian superstar Roberto Carlos back in 1997.
Late strikes from Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze gave the scoreline a respectable look.
But it might have been very different had Bellingham received his just desserts for a stamp before half-time and a reckless lunge after the break.
There have long been fears of Bellingham’s frustration boiling over, earning him a sending off in an England shirt – and this was as close as we’ve come.
The Brummie was dismissed for swearing at a ref while playing for Real against Osasuna last month – and this was a serious let-off.
BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK
That second ‘bookable’ offence was ludicrous as it took place just outside the Latvian and could have proved costly with England just 1-0 up at the time.
There were four changes from Friday’s routine defeat of Albania – Morgan Rogers given a full debut in place of Curtis Jones, with Jarrod Bowen replacing the underwhelming Phil Foden on the right flank.
In defence, Tuchel selected two of his Chelsea old boys – Marc Guehi, who he sold to Crystal Palace, as well as James.
England had never previously played Latvia but our Lionesses defeated their women 20-0 and on balance of play, this was almost as one-sided.
Still, this was a ‘top-of-the-table’ clash given that Latvia’s little-hopers had defeated the no-hopers of Andorra 1-0 on Friday.
In case you weren’t excited enough by that prospect, there were massive orange fireworks and a rendition of a drum-and-bass tune called Thomas Tuchel’s Army, which doesn’t sound as if it is going to catch on.
While Latvia is crying out for more NATO military presence in case of Russian aggression, there were dozens of British servicemen in the Wembley centre circle wobbling a giant flag.
From the start, it was one of those qualifying fixtures which resembled not so much a football match as an obstacle course with Latvia largely impassive and sitting deep.
Which made it all the more surprising when the first goalscoring chance went to the visitors.
A speculative ball down the right caused a bizarre mix-up between Guehi and Jordan Pickford but Vladislavs Gutkovskis shot into the side-netting.
Pickford was winning his 75th cap, drawing level with Gordon Banks and Joe Hart, leaving only Peter Shilton ahead of him in terms of England keepers.
But, like his panicky collision with Dan Burn against Albania on Friday, this wasn’t his finest hour.
https://twitter.com/itvfootball/status/1904281018200379736
Soon, though, England were peppering the Latvian goal. From a Declan Rice corner, Jude Bellingham’s header cannoned off Marcus Rashford’s back and Ezri Konsa’s follow-up effort was pushed over by Krisjanis Zviedris.
Kane headed over from a James centre when he ought to have scored and Jarrod Bowen might have had a penalty when Zviedris brought him down while trying to collect a cross – but VAR said ‘no’.
Rogers was lively on his first England start and Rashford was looking a little more menacing than he had against Albania, again without end product.
But there was heavy traffic inside the Latvian box and, as the shots rained down, more ricochets than tin-pan alley.
The answer to all these bodies in the way was to wallop one over their heads from 25 yards – and James duly did so.
Myles Lewis-Skelly was fouled and James stepped up to fire home with power and what the pros like to call ‘swaz’.
Just before the break, Konsa needed treatment after a spiteful barge from Gutkovskis and Rogers had a snap-shot well saved.
It was unconvincing again and at the interval, Tuchel asked Rashford and Bowen to switch wings.
Then came Belingham’s moment of madness. Booked for a lunge on Dmitrijs Zelenkovs before half-time, he leapt in on Raivis Jurkovskis near the corner and caught the Latvian’s leg.
It looked to be a clear yellow-card offence but Israeli ref Orel Grinfeeld showed clemency.
Tuchel sent on Eberechi Eze for Bowen as the paper planes began to rain down on the Wembley turf.
Kane drilled one narrowly wide but it was becoming a tough watch before Kane put the result beyond doubt with England’s second, and his 71st in international football.
Foden had just replaced Bellingham when Rashford and Rogers combined on the right and Rice made an artful run to square low for Kane to tap in.
Then Eze jinked down the left and cut inside before his shot took a massive deflection off Antonijs Carnomordoijs.
All’s well that ends well but there is little doubt that Bellingham dodged a bullet.
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