Thomas Tuchel and Declan Rice faced the media on Sunday afternoon ahead of England’s second World Cup qualifier of the camp against Latvia.
The pair reflected on the performance against Albania and looked ahead to Monday night.
Here is what they had to say.
Tuchel on England’s 2-0 win over Albania…
“It was a quite complicated match to play against a well organised and good defending team and still we have room to improve. In general, I was very happy with the effort and how we started the game. We played a lot of passes, we were totally dominant and we were well structured so we conceded absolutely no counter-attacks.
“We were very aware of the long balls and collecting the second balls so we put a lot of effort in which maybe wasn’t so exciting to watch and not so attractive but it was necessary to keep Albania to the absolute minimum of no big chances at all. The game was strange because there were not a lot of ball losses and there were not a lot of interruptions in the game so it was quite tiring.
“If you are then total responsible for everything in the match and for all the attacking and all the counter-pressing and the opponent just tries to absorb the energy and slow the game down, it’s sometimes difficult to maintain the level of focus and the level of excitement.”
On potential changes to the starting XI…
“We have reasons to let all of them play again and say, ‘let’s do stuff a bit better and find our rhythm together and find the connections’, but we have reports from the physical department that there are some players that are flagged with slight concerns.
“So, let’s see. It’s only the second day after the match so it’s a day where we have to be cautious. It could also make sense to put in some fresh players and fresh legs who really deserve to play, so maybe it will be a mix between the both.”
On the challenge England will face against Latvia…
“I think we are clear favourites in the next match. I think it will be difficult to predict exactly what Latvia is doing. We are right now watching clips from their match against Andorra, we’re watching clips from North Macedonia and we’re watching clips from the Faroe Islands.
“They’re facing a new level of opponent with us. I think we need mentally to adapt to that kind of role than try to implement our structure on the ball and have a good mix of, ‘what does it make sense to change our structure to make life easier for our players to defend and have high ball wins?’ This is the question that we have to answer – how much we can predict.”
We’re LIVE with @_DeclanRice and Thomas Tuchel to look forward to Monday’s game against Latvia 🚨 https://t.co/tTX4fJ6jFu
— England (@England) March 23, 2025
Rice on settling back into life on camp…
“The energy is really good. Training has been amazing – the energy in training has been really top. The manager addressed that on the first day after the first session. There were a group of boys that were doing a recovery session and we watched and we were like, ‘wow, this is top tempo and really sharp’. That’s been the theme of the whole really.
“It’s my first time working with Thomas and he’s really energetic and he cares so much about his players. We have one goal which is to get to the World Cup and we want to add the second star on to the shirt and he’s been massive on that. We’re all on the same page on that.”
On the six-year anniversary of his Three Lions debut…
“I’ve grown so much as a player and as a person in that time. Six years ago, I remember ex-pros that have retired now when I was at West Ham telling me, ‘Dec, enjoy your career because it goes so quick’. Already, it’s six years in an England shirt and it goes so fast.
“It’s just taught me to cherish every moment. To play for England is the biggest thing you can do and it’s been one of the best journeys I’ve ever had. With Thomas now and this new era, there’s still so much more to come and you’re going to keep seeing the best of us.”
On working with Tuchel…
“The way he wants his midfielders to play is very similar to how I have it at club so it’s not been too much different in terms of playing through the number six and playing to the number eights.
“Over time, we’re going to be able to get his style much more but the other night, we passed the ball really well and there were a lot of things there that he was happy with but stuff that we can keep improving on.”
On Harry Kane’s 70th goal for England…
“He’s insane. I’ve seen him train now for so long and I’ve seen him play so many games for England. The other night, what was so good about that goal for me was how he took the touch, waited for the defender to come across and then created the space.
“Not a lot of people would think like that and it was top level. He’s an unbelievable guy and a great captain.”
Latvia in profile
Nickname: Eleven Wolves
Coach: Paolo Nicolato
Captain: Kristers Tobers
Match Stats
● This will be England and Latvia’s first ever meeting. The Three Lions haven’t lost their first meeting against any of the last 56 nations they’ve faced for the first time (W42 D14) since losing 2-1 to Mexico in May 1959.
● Latvia have lost their last 13 international matches against sides who started that match within the top-ten of the FIFA Rankings by an aggregate score of 38-1. Their sole win against such opposition came against Türkiye – ranked 8th – in November 2003 in a UEFA European Championship qualifier.
● England have won their last four competitive matches, they last won five in a row in June 2021.
● England are unbeaten (W34 D4) in their last 38 qualifying matches for major tournaments at home (EURO/World Cup), twice as long as their next best run without defeat (two 19 game runs in April 1983 and October 1996).
● Latvia won their most recent competitive away match (1-0 v Andorra) after going winless in eight previously (D2 L6), however, they haven’t won back-to-back away games in major tournament (EURO/World Cup) qualifiers since October 2009 (v Luxembourg and Israel).
● England have won each of their last 35 competitive matches at Wembley in which they’ve led at half time, since a 2-2 draw against the Netherlands in 1993, with John Barnes and David Platt both scoring in the opening half-hour for the Three Lions.
● Jude Bellingham has played 41 times for England, the most caps ever won for the Three Lions while aged 21 or younger. He’s been directly involved in eleven goals (five goals, six assists) in his last 16 games and could either score or assist in three consecutive matches for the first time.
● Thomas Tuchel could be the first permanent England manager to win his first two competitive games in charge since Fabio Capello in September 2008 (won his first eight), while the last England manager to lose either of his first two competitive matches was Alf Ramsey in 1963 (lost both).
The Three Lions have never come up against Latvia, with this meeting marking a first-ever encounter between the two teams at senior level.