Three things we learnt as England secure World Cup qualification after dominant Latvia win

The night started with a superb Anthony Gordon effort. The Newcastle star, who was electric all evening, cut inside Latvian full-back Raivis Jurkovskis, before curling a beauty into the far corner.

Harry Kane doubled the Three Lions' lead with an equally impressive effort. His left-footed strike arrowed into the bottom corner, yet again leaving Krisjanis Zviedris in the Latvian net no chance.

The Bayern Munich talisman played a key role in England's third, too, winning the penalty after a shirt pull before dispatching the spot kick with absolute authority.

An unfortunate own goal from Maksims Toņisevs made it four, after a brilliant whipped delivery from Tottenham wing-back Djed Spence. Eberechi Eze completed the rout with another finish oozing class, hammering the ball into the bottom corner after being slipped through by fellow substitute Jarrod Bowen.

It was another utterly dominant display from the Three Lions, who can already look ahead to next summer's tournament with games in hand. With that being said, here are three things we learnt from the match.

Gordon’s influence

At the beginning of Thomas Tuchel’s tenure as England boss, left-wing was certainly one position that was not set in stone. There had been claims for Gordon to feature during the 2024 European Championships, but Phil Foden was often chosen instead.

The situation is vastly different now. Gordon has solidified himself as England’s first-choice left-winger - today’s performance will have done him no harm.

Gordon was at the epicentre of everything good for the Three Lions tonight. Him and Kane were the game’s most impactful players.

The Newcastle star had the better of Latvian full-back Jurkovskis every time, whether inside or out.

The goal came from the winger driving into the box, elegantly cutting onto his stronger right foot and caressing the ball into the far corner to break the deadlock.

But he was dangerous on the outside, too, putting a delicious delivery across the six-yard box just moments after his finish. It looked for all the world that Harry Kane would arrive at the far post to tap in his customary goal, but it wasn’t to be - he would have to wait just a few more minutes.

Gordon’s performances over October’s international fixtures, particularly tonight, means that spot on the left-hand side is certainly his to lose at this point.

​Is this the best version of Harry Kane?

Harry Kane is England’s record goalscorer with 76 goals, so his quality is nothing new to Three Lions fans - but this could be the best version of him throughout his esteemed career.

Eighteen goals for Bayern already this season tells the story itself, but watching Kane now, he is more complete than ever.

He’s always been prolific, he’s always been terrific on the ball and he has always got involved in play further away from goal if necessary. He still does all that, just quite a lot better.

His first goal of the match was pinpoint. On his weaker left foot, just a couple of touches to shift the ball before he fired it into the bottom corner in absolutely clinical fashion.

Add to that that he won the penalty, smartly taking himself to the floor after a blatant shirt pull by Latvia skipper Antonijs Cernomordijs, and then dispatched it, as always, expertly.

He is now a true captain and leader for this England side. His Bundesliga trophy means he has experience winning league titles, his scoring rate is better than it has ever been, and he is leading a side at both club and international level that has real chances of winning silverware.

Kane’s goalscoring has always been exemplary for England, but he has sometimes found the game pacing him by, particularly in the major tournaments.

With this version of Kane, there aren’t any games passing him by, that he doesn’t have a major impact on. That only bodes well for Tuchel and England.

​Another ruthless England display

Ruthless and England are not two words that have commonly been found in the same sentence. Too often in similar fixtures, England have left it late or struggled to really put teams to the sword - that’s far from reality now.

Nowadays, England are clinical and totally ruthless. They don’t struggle to pin teams in, nullifying any potential threat on their goal, and pass teams to death before either finding the perfect opportunity to punish, or use a bit of individual brilliance - they have it all.

The running from Gordon, Declan Rice, and Djed Spence - it shows that this felt like no friendly to them. Every game looks as if it means something to every player, and credit to Tuchel for creating that environment.

The atmosphere within the squad has shifted significantly over the recent two international breaks. Dominant performances, consistent starting 11 and a sense of urgency again, and England are suddenly enjoyable to watch.

Add to that the confidence the players now clearly feel in putting on an England shirt. All the signs point to a positive summer.