England player ratings vs. Latvia: Forest star shines with 9/10 as Villa struggler gets 4

Yet again, England made qualifying for the World Cup look rather easy. A 5-0 win in Latvia means that the Three Lions are the first European team to confirm their involvement next summer, and Thomas Tuchel’s record as manager in competitive games now stands at six played, six won, and no goals conceded.

The match in Riga wasn’t just about the final score, however, but also about the performance of players who were, in many cases, striving to make their case for inclusion in the squad next year. With a number of big names out due to fitness or poor form, this was a golden opportunity for fresher faces to stake a claim. So who succeeded, and who struggled? It’s time to rate the players…

Ezri Konsa impresses on a quiet night for England’s defence

Jordan Pickford – 7/10: It’s always hard to rate goalkeepers who don’t have a great deal to do. England’s undisputed number one was as much of a spectator as those in the stands for the majority of the evening, but managed to stay alert for the one relatively routine save he was called upon to make.

Myles Lewis-Skelly – 6: Left-back is a position that’s very much up for grabs, but having looked like the front-runner over the summer, Lewis-Skelly has lost his place in Arsenal’s starting line-up and looked slightly off the pace as a result. This was largely an exercise in supporting the attack, but none of his crosses connected and he wasn’t able to create a single shooting opportunity. There were no mistakes, but there was no penetration either.

John Stones – 7: All those injuries have perhaps caused a lot of fans to forget just how good Stones can be, and his work on the ball was of a fine vintage. He only misplaced one of his 61 passes, kick-started attacks with several excellent long balls, and provided the assist for Anthony Gordon’s opener. If Tuchel wants to build from the back, then Stones just made his case very nicely. Sterner defensive tests will come, of course.

Ezri Konsa – 8: Konsa seems to grow in stature every time he pulls on an England shirt. Virtually all of Latvia’s occasional forays into England territory seemed to come his way, and he dealt with the lot, winning every one-on-one, picking up three interceptions and putting in a last-man tackle to shut down a rare moment of danger. Konsa can practically pack his bags for the United States at this point, with the only question being whether he starts or whether he plays on the right or in the middle.

Djed Spence – 6: Spence was a willing supporting runner going forward but much like Lewis-Skelly, he didn’t make much happen and all five of his crosses missed a team-mate. Unlike his colleague on the left, however, Spence was occasionally tested defensively and passed pretty comfortably, although one attempted tackle did result in a foul if we’re looking to nitpick.

Harry Kane & Elliot Anderson shine as qualification is secured

Declan Rice – 6: Rice is arguably England’s most important player these days and has cut a pretty colossal figure in recent fixtures, but this was a quieter night for the Arsenal man. There was some solid defensive work and few mistakes, but he did miss some passes in the final third and didn’t impose himself on the game as firmly as he often has during Tuchel’s brief tenure.

Elliot Anderson – 9: The ball seemed to be magnetically attracted to Anderson in Riga – his 150 touches was the most by a mile and he used the opportunity to showcase his quality on and off the ball. A massive 11 ball recoveries highlights the work he did when Latvia tried to come forward, his passing was economical when required and threatening when the chance came, and the sheer effort on display as he hurtled up and down the pitch was hugely impressive. One note: Perhaps he could stand to shoot a little less frequently. He had five cracks on goal and none of them troubled the ‘keeper.

Anthony Gordon – 7: Gordon gave us 70 lively minutes and took his opening goal with aplomb, but was otherwise a little hit and miss. He created one or two decent chances coming in from the flank but also missed the mark a couple of times with his shots and only one of his eight crosses found an England player. His movement was excellent but his final product was maybe slightly lacking, if that doesn’t sound like too strange of a thing to say of a goalscorer. Gordon has the edge for the left wing role right now, but it still feels up for grabs.

Morgan Rogers – 4: These past two international breaks have presented Rogers with a gilt-edged opportunity to make the number ten role his own with Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden all left out. Mostly, he’s done pretty well, but against Latvia he was becalmed. Of his 33 touches, 14 of them resulted in Latvia regaining possession, and he didn’t muster a single shot on goal. Eberechi Eze looked considerably brighter when he replaced Rogers with 30 minutes remaining. Not the best audition, sadly.

Bukayo Saka – 6: Technically, Saka got an assist last night, but given that the ball simply cannoned off of him and into Harry Kane’s path, we can’t give him too much credit. It did highlight some of what Saka did well – his pressing work was excellent – while his dribbling was as sharp as ever, but the end product was absent for once. Still more or less nailed on to be England’s right winger in the States, and rightly so.

Harry Kane – 9: It’s impossible to find anything new to say about Kane these days. He’s one of the best centre-forwards on the planet and he makes finding little pockets of space look ridiculously easy. He probably should have had a hat-trick and did miss a couple of presentable chances, but his 20-yard strike for England’s second was sublime and his penalty as cool as you could ever ask for. Kane is simply very, very good and incredibly consistent.

Eberechi Eze stands out among the substitutes

Jarrod Bowen (on 60’ for Saka) – 7: Bowen was clearly keen to make a mark after coming on and provided a couple of dangerous deliveries to go along with a surfeit of huff and puff. Picked up an assist for Eze’s goal but, like Saka, can’t claim too much credit.

Eberechi Eze (on 60’ for Rogers) – 8: Eze showed of his gossamer touch, creative prowess and sense of space for a highly impressive half-hour, and wrapped the evening up with a quite brilliant goal. Latvia made it fairly easy with some shaky defending, admittedly, but he still took advantage in a way that Rogers did not.

Jordan Henderson (on 60’ for Rice) – 6: You’ll have made up your mind about whether Henderson should be in the squad already and he didn’t do anything to change hearts and minds on Tuesday evening. He was efficient, economical, error-free and largely unnoticeable as he kept the midfield ticking over tidily.

Dan Burn (on 71’ for Stones) – 6: Playing through a broken wrist will enhance his credentials as an old-fashioned English enforcer at the back, but he didn’t really have much to do after coming on at a time when Latvia had already given up.

Marcus Rashford (on 71’ for Gordon) – 6: Rashford has been in fine form for Barcelona but didn’t find a way to make a mark at the tail end of Tuesday’s game. There were a few incisive runs as he probed for ways to break the Latvia defence open, but ultimately no end product in his cameo.