England manage feat not seen for 33 years after Thomas Tuchel’s line-up decision against Latvia
ENGLAND boss Thomas Tuchel broke rank against Latvia by naming a team 33 years in the making.
The Three Lions won 3-0 led by a stunning Reece James free-kick before the break, with captain Harry Kane and super sub Eberechi Eze getting on the scoresheet in the second half.
But history was made before the game had even begun thanks to the new England boss.
Tuchel, 51, made four changes to the team which beat Albania 2-0 on Friday, bringing in James for his first start for two-and-a-half years, Marc Guehi, Morgan Rogers and Jarrod Bowen into the team.
Those changes, along with the other seven stars on the pitch, meant Tuchel named a side without a single Manchester United, Manchester City or Liverpool player in it.
It was the first time an England player from one of the three clubs – who have all have dominated English football at various points in history – was missing from the team since Euro 1992.
The match in question was a group game against Sweden.
England, then managed by Graham Taylor, lost the game 2-1 and were subsequently sent home from the tournament.
Coincidentally, it was also the first time in 33 years that an England defender had scored from a direct free-kick at Wembley, with Chelsea star James emulating Stuart Pearce against Turkey.
Marcus Rashford, who had a markedly improved if still underwhelming game today compared to Friday, represents a slight loophole in that he is on loan at Aston Villa from Man Utd.
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However, his presence as a Villa player represented its own record for the Villans.
It was the first time three Aston Villa players – Rashford, Ezri Konsa and Rogers – were named in the starting XI of an England team since 2009 when Gabby Agbonlahor, Emile Heskey and Gareth Barry played in a friendly against Spain.
In a night were records came tumbling down, Eze’s goal saw him become the first Crystal Palace player since Peter Taylor in 1976 to score for the national team.
Asked if he saw an improvement from his first game in charge, Tuchel said: “I guess so. It was not an easy match, we had to unlock it.
“There are a lot of good things; it’s a good result, another clean sheet, we created a lot of chances from set pieces.
“Okay, we needed a free kick to unlock (the game) but, in general, I’m happy with the attitude, the energy and the desire to do the stuff that we want. We will get there.”
Kane, who scored his 71st Three Lions goal with a far-post tap in from Declan Rice‘s cross, agreed that the team had improved from Friday.
He told ITV: “I think so. There were more patterns of play, more chances and more creative opportunities.
“But, again, it was tough. You’re playing against 11 men behind the ball, they try to make it difficult.
“We had to use the wide players and then the guys coming off the bench made a good impact.
“Overall, we can be pleased with the two wins and the two clean sheets.”
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