Everyone wants to have the ball when Latvia come to town. Everyone fancies the chance to take an extra touch. Everyone wants to be the star. Nobody seems to realise that slowing the play down is exactly what Latvia want as they settle into their rearguard action and focus on little more than keeping England out.
It is a familiar problem for England. Thomas Tuchel has spoken about playing with intensity, about tapping into the aggression of the Premier League, about his team imposing their will on opponents. The challenge did not lie in defeating Latvia, but rather in how victory was achieved. Standards had to go up after a solid but unremarkable opening World Cup qualifying win against Albania. Tuchel is demanding. Tuchel will ask for more. Tuchel will not shy away from trying to rein in Jude Bellingham when the midfielder allows the unfocused, petulant version of himself to take over.
Perhaps it was mere coincidence that England improved after Bellingham made way for Phil Foden in the 67th minute of a victory that again offered few pointers about how this side will fare in knockout football. Even so it did not go unnoticed that the pace went up after Tuchel tweaked his attack, moving Foden into the No 10 position, giving Morgan Rogers a roving role and unclogging the middle. Suddenly there were purposeful runs, different angles and sharper passes. Overwhelmed, Latvia’s resistance faded as 1-0 on 67 minutes became 2-0 on 68, a swift exchange between Marcus Rashford, Rogers and Declan Rice teeing up Harry Kane. Eberechi Eze, impressive during his cameo, made it 3-0 with his first international goal.
But what of Bellingham? The yearning for a saviour often muddles England’s thinking. Build the team around that guy. It was revealing to hear Gareth Southgate talk about your best players still being your best players as he tried to justify Foden and Bellingham getting in each other’s way last summer. Tuchel is clearer. He does not prioritise the individual over the team.
There was the ruthlessness to drop Foden after an insipid display against Albania. Nobody is arguing that Jarrod Bowen is better than Foden. The issue is whether Bowen is a more effective option on the right when Bukayo Saka is unavailable.
Everyone knows that Kane thrives when he is surrounded by pace. Bowen, who looked too desperate to impress after being handed a rare start, failing to take his chance against Latvia is besides the point. Tuchel has made it clear that his mission is to pick the best team, not the best players. His hunch is that he needs two direct wingers.
Yet the search goes on after another mixed performance. There was another interesting selection from Tuchel, who dispensed with the 4-2-3-1 from the Albania game and went on the attack. Curtis Jones, more likely to drop deep in search of the ball, was sacrificed and Rogers came in to play next to Bellingham in an enterprising 4-1-4-1 system. Rashford, uneven against Albania, again started on the left.
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Latvia decided it would be worth trying to take short goal-kicks. Their optimism was admirable. They even almost had a shock lead after a mix-up between Jordan Pickford and Marc Guéhi. Reece James had some early problems with Janis Ikaunieks, the 30‑year‑old Rigas FS hotshot.
England steadied themselves. James opened the scoring with a lovely free-kick. Mostly, though, England were too fiddly and intricate. Rogers and Bellingham crowded each other out and were often in Kane’s space. Myles Lewis-Skelly inverted from left‑back, providing an extra body in midfield, but the wingers were not supported by overlapping runs. There was too much messing around. Latvia sat back and waited. Too many wanted to be the star. Bellingham dithered, lost possession and saw yellow for a clumsy foul. He was lucky not to be booked again when he cleaned out Raivis Jurkovskis early in the second half.
Bellingham still wants to do too much. A lot of time is given over to him standing up a defender, twisting this way and that, then twisting this way and that again. It is not efficient enough. The result is that space disappears and Bellingham’s frustration builds. He still has a tendency to boil over when things become complicated.
The failings from Euro 2024 persist. Mixed into Tuchel’s criticism of his wide players has been an acknowledgment that England do not find their runs or move the ball with enough snap. It probably comes back to the makeup of the midfield. There is still no link player, no connector, no one who fizzes risky passes into the forwards. England’s tempo is still too sedate. Bellingham is a gamechanger, a moments player, but drift sets in when he has too much of the ball. It is not about individuals but England need a conductor. Adam Wharton, impressing in the under-21s, is worth a look next time.