England Qualifies
Harry Kane helped fire England to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals after a 5-0 win against Latvia on a night Thomas Tuchel was teased by fans.
Captain Kane returned from injury to score twice in the first-half amid a remarkable start to the season, now with 21 goals in 13 games for club and country.
The two in Riga, which took his international tally to 76 and came after Anthony Gordon’s classy opener, ensured Tuchel’s side will be in North America next summer, becoming the first European team to qualify.
An own goal from Maksims Tonisevs and a late Eberechi Eze strike made it a night to remember for England.
Tuchel has done the first part of his job in getting England to the tournament and if they continue the upward trajectory shown in the last three matches, they will be contenders to win it, with the German facing the prospect of becoming the man to finally end 60 years of hurt.
That would certainly be enough to get him back in the good books of England fans, who teased him throughout the evening.
Taunts of “we sing when we want,” and “are we loud enough for you?” plus a range of others came after the German criticised the Wembley atmosphere during Thursday’s friendly against Wales.
There were scenes of unified celebrations at the end, though, as England, who have won all six of their Group K qualifiers without conceding a goal, secured qualification for their eighth successive World Cup.
Kane, who had a goal disallowed for offside after just 43 seconds, could have started the fun in the sixth minute as he flashed an effort wide at the near post after good work from Gordon down the left.
Gordon looked England’s best attacking outlet and he delivered a brilliant piece of quality to open the scoring in the 26th minute.
John Stones sent him clear down the left and he cut inside to beat one man, shifted the ball across another and then curled into the bottom corner from just inside the area.
England doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time and there was a sense of inevitability about it as Kane came to the party.
The ball fell kindly to him after a clearance hit Bukayo Saka and he drilled in a low effort from 20 yards for his 75th international goal.
76 came in first-half injury time as he converted a penalty, which was awarded after VAR spotted a shirt-pull on him at a corner.
England had done the heavy lifting and went in search of more goals after the break.
Their fourth came in the 56th minute when Djed Spence’s wicked cross bounced off Tonisevs’ leg and into the back of the net.
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford ensured he kept a ninth successive clean sheet with a flying save from Eduards Daskevics’ shot.
Kane was then denied a hat-trick when a clever corner routine saw him pull away to the edge of the area to receive the ball but his shot was saved by the legs of Krisjanis Zviedris.
Eze completed the scoring in the 86th minute when he glided into the area and found the bottom corner.
Qatar qualifies
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Qatar qualified for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday with a 2-1 win over the United Arab Emirates thanks to second-half headers from Boualem Khoukhi and Pedro Miguel.
It marks the first time that Qatar, which lost all three group-stage games when it hosted the 2022 tournament, has advanced through qualification.
The victory put Qatar atop Group A in the fourth round of Asian qualification, ahead of second-place UAE, which now moves on to the fifth round and playoffs. Oman was eliminated after finishing third in the group.
Qatar’s best first-half chance came in the 30th minute, when Mohammed Al-Mannai’s header bounced just wide of the UAE goal.
Two minutes into the second half, Khoukhi opened the scoring by heading in a free kick from Akram Afif past goalkeeper Khalid Essa. With 17 minutes remaining, Afif provided another assist, crossing from the left for Pedro Miguel to head home at the far post.
Qatar was reduced to 10 men when Tarek Salman was shown a straight red card in the 87th minute. After eight of the 15 minutes added on, UAE pulled a goal back through Sultan Adil’s shot from inside the area to ensure a tense finish. UAE would have advanced with a draw.
Japan and South Korea, which have already secured a spot at next year’s World Cup, both won friendlies against South American teams Tuesday.
Japan beat Brazil for the first time, fighting from two goals down to win 3-2 in Tokyo. Ayase Ueda grabbed the winning goal with a header in the 71st minute.
South Korea beat Paraguay 2-0 in Seoul.
South Africa qualifies
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa became the latest African nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after beating Rwanda 3-0 Tuesday to top its qualifying group, despite being docked three points for fielding an ineligible player in earlier games.
It will be South Africa’s first appearance at a World Cup since it qualified automatically as the host in 2010.
South Africa’s victory meant Nigeria finished second in the group and will have to qualify through a playoff.
Nigeria beat Benin 4-0 at home after a hat trick from star striker Victor Osimhen. Benin had led the group before the last round.
Saudi Arabia Qualifies
Saudi Arabia drew 0-0 with Iraq on Monday to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Saudi Arabia, which will stage the 2034 World Cup, will appear for a seventh time next summer in North America.
After defeating Indonesia last Wednesday, Saudi Arabia got the draw it needed against Iraq in Jeddah to win Group B. The home team had most of the possession in a game of few chances but couldn’t find a breakthrough. Iraq would have qualified for the first time since 1986 with a win.
Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal qualifies
Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
They are the 27th and 28th non-host nations to qualify for the tournament, and 24th and 25th non-host countries to punch their ticket.
