Thomas Tuchel’s “first” England team won and convinced. The German coach, only the third foreigner to take charge of the Three Lions – the others before him were Eriksson and Capello – immediately showed that he knows what he wants: England beat Albania 2-0 at Wembley on the first day of qualifying for the next World Cup, where England will inevitably be one of the favorites.
Kane and his teammates left the field to applause from the crowd: regardless of the final result, Tuchel’s team shone in both areas of the pitch, maintaining a positive attitude throughout, a sign of a stark contrast with Southgate’s management. Perhaps they could have scored a few more goals, but it was also important to minimize the risks at the back. Albania, usually dangerous on the counterattack, hardly had a shot on goal. Among the best on the pitch was Arsenal’s young left-back Lewis-Skelly: the Gunners’ talented 2006-born player was a real factor on the left flank and scored the goal that broke the deadlock after 20 minutes of play. In the second half, it was the irreproachable Kane who doubled the lead, a surefire goal scorer when it comes to World Cup or European qualifiers.
England now seek confirmation against a team that, on paper, is even more beatable than Albania: Latvia. Ahead of their clash with Serbia – the Balkan side, currently involved in the Nations League, are the main threat in this group – the English are aiming for their second consecutive win. The Baltic adventure also began with a victory: with a goal from Sits last Friday, Latvia defeated Andorra (0-1), giving three important points to Italian coach Paolo Nicolato.
Odds comparison
The “Over 3.5” bet is priced at 1.67 on Goldbet, Lottomatica, and Snai. The “1 Handicap Tempo 1” bet is priced at 1.90 on Goldbet, Lottomatica, and Snai.
More information on bonuses
If you are a new user, in order to compare odds comprehensively, it may be useful to also analyze any bonuses offered by the operators themselves on new registrations.
- GOLDBET – Up to €3050 on sports and casino with 200% on your first sports deposit up to €1000 MORE INFO
- SNAI – €15 free + 50% on your first deposit up to €30 MORE INFO
- LOTTOMATICA – Up to €3050 on sports and casino with 200% on your first sports deposit up to €1000 MORE INFO
Prediction
After a flawless debut, England should have no trouble beating Latvia. This time, the margin could be even wider: the total number of goals is likely to be at least four.
Probable line-ups for England-Latvia
ENGLAND (4-2-3-1): Pickford; James, Guéhi, Colwill, Livramento; Rice, Henderson; Bowen, Bellingham, Rogers; Kane.
LATVIA (3-4-2-1): Zviedris; Jurkovskis, Balodis, Cernomordijs; Savalnieks, Melniks, Savaljevs, Ciganiks; Zelenkovs, Ikaunieks; Gutkovskis.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 4-0