England have officially qualified for the 2026 World Cup after easing to victory over Latvia.
The Three Lions become the first European nation to qualify for next year’s tournament, doing so with two games to spare.
The men’s team will be heading across the Atlantic next summer out to end what will be 60 years without a major trophy in the tournament taking place across 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Thomas Tuchel’s side have enjoyed an impeccable qualifying campaign, winning all six matches to secure top spot in Group K.
Away in Riga on Tuesday night, England got the job done in style as they cruised to a comfortable 5-0 victory.
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Anthony Gordon got the visitors off the mark after 26 minutes, cutting inside to find the far corner with a crisp finish.
After passing up a host of chances, Harry Kane got himself on the score sheet with a fine strike from the edge of the box, doubling his tally from the penalty spot before half-time.
England had a fourth when Djed Spence’s cross was diverted past his own goalkeeper by Latvia’s Andrejs Ciganiks in the second-half.
Eberechi Eze added a fifth late on.
England conclude their qualifying campaign against Serbia and Albania in November before Tuchel can start to ponder who will be making his final squad next summer.
The World Cup officially gets underway on Thursday 11 June.
England will discover their group opponents when the World Cup draw takes place on 5 December.
How will the World Cup format work?
With the World Cup expanding to 48 teams, the format has been tweaked for 2026 and is now somewhat similar to the European championships.
The 48 teams will be drawn into 12 groups of four, with the top two from each group advancing to the knockout stage.
They will be joined by the eight best performing third-placed teams, with all other countries eliminated. The third-placed teams will be ranked first by points and then goal difference and goals scored.
From there, it’s a simple knockout format, as the 32 teams are whittled down to the final two. As ever, there will be a third-place play-off between the beaten semi-finalists.