James bends it like Beckham to spark attritional England into life

It was never going to be about the victory. It had been inevitable for England against the team ranked 140 in the world.

- David Hytner

Is this the famous English arrogance? Maybe. What it was going to be about was the manner of it. Whether there were any signs of Thomas Tuchel getting his messages across, sprinkling his magic.

It was easy to enjoy the Mexican wave rippling around Wembley in the 75th minute, shortly after Harry Kane had made it 2-0 and just before Eberechi Eze, on as a substitute, made a few stepovers and watched his shot deflect in off the Latvia captain, Antonijs Cernomordijs, for No 3.

There had been a lovely moment towards the end of the first half, too, Reece James curling home a stunning 25-yard free-kick. It was his first start for England since September 2022 and his first international goal.

And yet it was a mixed bag for Tuchel's team. It is never ideal when the onus is on England to break down ultra-defensive opponents. But there were spells when England were predictable in possession, lacking tempo, taking too many touches and it all felt a little unsatisfactory.

Jude Bellingham was lucky not to be dismissed for a second yellow card, which would have put an entirely different complexion on the occasion.

Latvia had beaten Andorra 1-0 on Friday night and, as such, they kicked off level on points with England at the top of Group K. So, rivals? Nobody inside Wembley saw it that way. There was hardly an England fan who really saw Latvia at all.