England seal place at 2026 World Cup as Harry Kane makes history in Latvia thrashing

England have secured their qualification for the 2026 World Cup with a 5-0 thrashing of Latvia.

Three Lions captain Harry Kane was the star of the show as he scored two goals to make history for his country.

Kane has netted 18 times for England since joining Bayern Munich in 2023, the most for a non-English club.

He has overtaken Gary Lineker, who led the way on 17 goals whilst at Barcelona since 1989.

Kane scored after Anthony Gordon fired the visitors in front with a fine strike midway through the first half.

Their fourth came via a Latvian player, as Maksims Tonisevs found the back of his own net before Eberechi Eze made it five on the night.

At full-time, England were confirmed as the latest side to automatically qualify for the 48-team World Cup next summer.

They have won all six of their matches in Group K, taking 18 points from a possible 18.

Furthermore, they have scored 18 goals and kept a sixth consecutive clean sheet.

England are seven points clear of Albania, who could reach the play-offs as they sit second in Group K.

With each side only having six points left to win, Albania are not able to catch up with England and automatically qualify.

Serbia are also in with the chance of finishing second in the group.

What's next for England?

Although their World Cup qualification is now confirmed, England still have two more fixtures in Group K.

They face Serbia and Andorra in the November international break, with the former making the visit to Wembley.

England will not return to action until March, with their opponents for the first break of 2026 yet to be confirmed.

But once they're played, they will focus on their record eighth consecutive World Cup appearance.

The tournament, hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico, will begin on June 11 and end on July 19.

It will be the first edition to have 48 teams competing in 12 groups of four before the knockout stages.

28/48 teams have qualified