Latvia vs England preview: Three Lions aiming to move within touching distance of World Cup berth

Round six of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers sees England head to the Daugava Stadium on Tuesday to face off against Latvia.

The hosts will be aiming to get themselves back on track after suffering back-to-back defeats, while their visitors will set out to preserve their 100% qualifying record.

England preview

Wins over Andorra and Serbia in September saw England take further control of Group K as Thomas Tuchel’s men opened up a seven-point gap at the summit with five matches left.

Back on friendly duty for the first time since a shock 3-1 defeat to Senegal in June, The Three Lions made light work of Wales en route to a 3-0 triumph in Thursday’s meeting at Wembley Stadium.

England will now head to Riga in search of a double over Latvia after a 3-0 win in the sides’ first-ever meeting back earlier this year courtesy of goals from Reece James, Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze.

Having conceded just once in their last nine matches across all competitions, Tuesday’s visitors have been rock-solid at the back and will be confident of keeping their upcoming opponents at bay.

Latvia preview

After kicking off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 1-0 victory at Andorra, Latvia have since failed to win any of their subsequent five outings.

Kristjan Asllani’s penalty was enough to condemn Paolo Nicolato’s men to a second 1-0 defeat in a row to leave them fourth in Group K, three points behind third-place Serbia and four behind Albania in second.

With Serbia and Albania set to play each other tomorrow, Latvia will have an opportunity to close the gap on at least one of them when they host Andorra.

Scoring just two times in their five qualifying outings so far, Tuesday’s hosts will need to up the ante at the top end of the pitch if they are to stand any chance of securing a playoff spot, with automatic qualification all but out of the question.

Team News

Harry Kane did not feature for England against Wales, but the England skipper is expected to be fit enough to play a part in Sunday’s clash.

Making his return to action for his nation after an injury layoff, Saka wrapped up the scoring for England last time out to become the Arsenal player with the most goals for England in history.

With four goals in his last six matches at club level, Latvian striker Marko Regza is a man in form and will be looking to deliver the goods.

Since breaking into the hosts’ top 10 for all-time goals, Janis Ikaunieks has endured a lengthy international goal drought spanning the best part of two years.

Latvia Predicted XI (5-4-1): Zviedris; Ciganiks, Balodis, Cernomordijs, Melniks, Jurkovskis; Daskevics, Vapne, Zelenkovs, Varslavans; Sits

England Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Lewis-Skelly, Guehi, Stones, Konsa; Rice, Anderson; Saka, Eze, Rogers; Kane