Good camp, bad camp. Who are the winners and losers from Thomas Tuchel's October England games?

England became the first European team to qualify for next summer's World Cup, thanks to another comprehensive win to book their place in the finals. 

Thomas Tuchel's men thumped Latvia 5-0 in Riga, to make it six wins from six in Group K, with the Three Lions yet to concede a goal in qualifying. 

With their spot in next summer's festivities across North America assured, the talk will now turn to Tuchel's final squad and the names that are likely to be in or out. 

Following the qualification win and their routine friendly victory over Wales, DAZN News picks out who's benefited or who hasn't from the October England camp. 

Good camp 

Anthony Gordon 

Given the embarrassment of riches England has in the attacking wide berths, this felt like the camp where Anthony Gordon really staked a claim to be Tuchel's first choice on the left side of the front three. 

The Newcastle winger was a constant menace against Wales at Wembley and kept his place for the qualifier in Riga, where he was one of the best players on the pitch. 

Gordon opened the scoring for the Three Lions and was always a threat whenever he had the ball. His directness and willingness to drive at opponents feel like what Tuchel exactly wants from his wide men and given the performances from Gordon, that left-hand spot feels like his to lose now. 

Getty

Ezri Konsa 

There's no doubt that Konsa is seen as a key member of Tuchel's squad and only an injury would stop him from being part of the German's final squad. 

However, this break felt like the camp where Konsa moved from a definite squad member to a probable England starter. 

Against Wales, he started as right-back and didn't put a foot wrong, even though Wales didn't offer much.

The Aston Villa man then moved to centre-back against Latvia and was England's most assured defender, with his recovery tackle in the second half stopping the only real danger from the hosts. 

We all assumed the first-choice pairing would be John Stones and Marc Guehi, but Konsa clearly has other ideas - and he showed why. 

Djed Spence 

The only area that's still a big question mark for the manager is who the starting full-backs will be for him come the World Cup. 

Reece James seems to be the first choice, but fitness issues seem to constantly surround the Chelsea man, while on the left, Myles Lewis-Skelly's lack of game time at Arsenal could be an issue. 

That's why Djed Spence's pretty flawless displays at left-back against Wales and then on the right in Riga may have pushed him right up the pecking order. 

His ability to play on both sides makes him a valuable asset, and right now it looks like taking him to the States. 
 

• Read next I Five Premier League talking points: Big Ange on the brink, Haaland on fire and crunch time looms at Anfield

Bad camp

England's big names 

Absence often makes the heart grow fonder, but that really wasn't the case for England across these two games. 

Much was made about Tuchel's descision to stick with the same set of players for October and leave big names such as Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham at home, but England had no issues without them and continued where they left off after the win in Serbia last month. 

Morgan Rogers continues to show he can play in that No 10 role, while the midfield two of Declan Rice and Elliott Anderson have quickly clicked. 

Yes, Wales and Latvia didn't present a major threat to the Three Lions and with bigger tasks ahead, the star names are bound to be back, but their spots have never felt as shaky as they do now. 

Marcus Rashford 

The curious case of Marcus Rashford continues with the forward failing to really make a mark on the Wales game, nor the qualifier against Latvia, and he didn't start either game. 

His case was further harmed by the comments made by Tuchel, where he warned the Barcelona man he could regret not fulfilling his potential - clearly underlining an issue he sees with the 28-year-old. 

There's time on his side and if his form at Barca continues, he should stay in the manager's plans, but it's a starting place right now that doesn't look likely. 

England

Ollie Watkins 

The place to be Harry Kane's understudy remains up in the air and injury struck at the worst time for Watkins. 

He was on the scoresheet against Wales, taking full advantage of Kane's absence for the friendly, but he may have had more time to prove his worth against Latvia with the game having been won so early in the encounter. 

As the striker isn't quite firing on all cylinders for Villa right now, it feels like there's still some work to do if he is to make the plane as the next viable option after the England captain. 

 

How to watch The National League exclusively on DAZN

You can watch the whole of the 2025-26 season with a National League TV DAZN subscription.

Every game in the National League, and selected matches in National League North and National League South, is available on DAZN, either live and/or on-demand*. That's over 600 games all in one place.

NLTV on DAZN is available on any device, including Smart TVs, mobile devices, tablets, streaming devices, games consoles, and, for viewers in the UK, your Sky box.

If you do not have the App already then just follow these instructions....

• Download the free DAZN App from your normal App store on your TV, phone, tablet, or streaming device
• On a laptop or PC   visit www.DAZN.com/home
• Select 'Get started' or 'log in'
• Enter your email address, or sign up via the Apple, Google or Facebook options
• You then have access to all of DAZN's free content, including the Matchroom boxing channel, LIV Golf and FIFA+
• Then find the National League page and click 'buy now'

For more information and to sign up, head here now.

*3pm Saturday kick-offs subject to TV blackout restrictions, but available to watch later on Saturday on-demand