England know a victory over Latvia on Tuesday at 7:45pm (UK time) will confirm their place at next year’s World Cup finals.
The Three Lions head to the Daugavas Stadiona in Riga looking to complete a double over their Group K opponents.
England predicted lineup vs Latvia
England (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Spence, Guehi, Stones, Konsa; Rice, Anderson; Rashford, Rogers, Saka; Kane.
Thomas Tuchel’s men have won five out of five so far and haven’t conceded a goal in qualifying. They look to make certain of their place among the 48 teams heading to USA, Canada and Mexico next summer.
Latvia would need to win both of their remaining games to have any chance of finishing in the top two. But Paolo Nicolato’s team have failed to win any of their last five qualifiers, drawing two alongside three defeats.
England team news vs Latvia
Tuchel is expected to make at least a couple of changes from the England side that started the 3-0 win over Wales.
Captain Harry Kane sat out the friendly victory over Craig Bellamy’s men due to a ‘minor’ ankle problem. The 32-year-old suffered the injury in Bayern Munich’s win over Eintracht Frankfurt earlier this month, but Tuchel feels he will be fit to feature in Riga.
Ollie Watkins has been ruled out due to injury, having had to come off at half-time against Wales. Marcus Rashford is expected to take his place on Tuesday.
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Anthony Gordon moved into a more central position when Watkins was taken off, and the Newcastle ace is another option for Tuchel.
Tuchel must also decide who features in the centre of midfield. Elliott Anderson looks set to get the nod over the more experienced Jordan Henderson.
Kane looks to extend goal gap
England should be able to see off their opponents even without their skipper. But Kane will want to be part of the team that seals a place at the World Cup.
The Bayern striker will see this qualifier as a good opportunity to extend his position as England’s all-time leading goalscorer.
Kane currently has 74 goals to his name for his country, which includes a strike in the reverse fixture at Wembley. The former Tottenham man is now 21 goals clear of Wayne Rooney in the all-time England goal stats.
Speaking before the Wales game, Tuchel revealed: “He got a kick in his last match and it is too painful to kick the ball and too risky for him.
“We give him the chance for it to calm down, and we are convinced he will be ready for Latvia.”