Head coach Tuchel vows to take England to 'another level' after FIFA WC 2026 qualification

Riga [Latvia], October 15 (ANI): Head coach Thomas Tuchel believes England can go to another level under his reign after the Three Lions became the first team from Europe to punch their ticket for the FIFA World Cup 2026 with two games to spare.

England cantered to their eighth successive World Cup qualification after pummelling Latvia with a 5-0 win at Daugava Stadium. In their first-ever meeting, England toyed with their Baltic opponents and soared to a 3-0 lead at the half-time for a third game in a row.

After a near-total dominance, Tuchel isn't looking to stand still but build on their current standards to take down top-tier nations during next year's showpiece event in the US.

"[Another level to come?] Why not, why not, you can never stand still. If you stand still in football, you just lose the distance to the top teams, to the top nations and to the top level. So we need to develop and build on it. It was our first camp [when England last played Latvia]," Tuchel said as quoted from Sky Sports.

"I was quite happy with the first camp, we were very dominant, we played a bit different in the set-up and the structure, we played with more control, created a bit less chances, had not so many high ball wins than we have now. So we played more direct and a bit more physical game [on Tuesday]," he added.

England's early dominance was largely due to captain Harry Kane's threatening presence. The irrepressible forward fired a quick double in the dying minutes of the first half and took his tally to 76 international goals.

"You just look at the goal in the 85th minute, the goal from Ebbs [Eze], and then we have a ball loss and Harry goes all the way back to his own half and puts his head down in another sprint defensively as a captain, as the number nine," Tuchel said.

"There's no real need to do this, no one will ever blame him if he didn't do it, but he does it. That sets the standards, that sets the example, and that's what I think everyone feels at the moment," he added. (ANI)

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