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Manager Thomas Tuchel laughed off taunts from England fans as “British humour” after his team smashed Latvia 5-0 to become the first European side to book a place at next year’s World Cup.Harry Kane’s first-half double in Riga on Tuesday, along with goals from Anthony Gordon, Eberechi Eze and a Maksims Tonisevs own goal, guaranteed England a place at the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States.Tuchel was on the receiving end of light-hearted chants from the travelling fans who were responding to the German’s criticism of the atmosphere during Thursday’s 3-0 friendly win over Wales at Wembley.He was subjected to taunts of “We sing when we want” and “Are we loud enough for you?”.“I got a bit of stick today, in the first half, pretty much in every song,” said Tuchel.“So fair enough. Well done. I take it and good humour, good sense of humour.“They had a reason today from my last comments and I guess that’s fair enough. I got a bit of stick and I found it quite creative.“It made me smile and this is how it has to be. It’s British humour and I surely can take it. No harm done.”Tuchel, whose contract runs until the end of the World Cup, said vocal support from fans was vital as the team chases a first major trophy since 1966.“It’s so important. They are here and I said the support in Serbia was brilliant, and we are very sure the support in America (at the World Cup) will be absolutely brilliant,” he said. “We need it. It makes such a difference if you go out as a player or as a coach and you see the fans behind the team and singing.“We want to make them proud, we want to make them happy. They should be happy to watch us and they should be able to identify with how we play.“We are on our way to build something and top performance from them.”England’s victory in Riga made it six wins from six in Group K and they now have an unassailable seven-point lead over second-placed Albania, with two games remaining.The draw for the group stage of the World Cup will be held in Washington on December 5.

Thomas Tuchel blasted England’s “silent” fans for failing to back his team loudly enough during their 3-0 friendly win over Wales at Wembley on Thursday.Tuchel’s side delivered an eye-catching first half display as Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Bukayo Saka all netted inside the first 20 minutes. England’s swaggering performance, which followed a 5-0 demolition of Serbia in a crucial World Cup qualifier in September, was a promising sign as they gear up for next year’s World Cup.But Tuchel took exception to what he felt was a tepid response from England supporters in the sell-out crowd. “We did very, very well. We had an excellent first half, we were 3-0 up very quickly but could have been four or five. Then we couldn’t score the fourth one or the fifth one and the stadium was silent,” Tuchel said.“Silent! We never got any energy back from the fans and I think the players delivered a lot to get more from the fans. It was difficult to keep everything going in the second half, but we did excellent and deserved to win. A step in the right direction.”Tuchel’s frustration was exacerbated by hearing Wales backed by 7,000 raucous fans, who never stopped cheering their team even though they were completely out-classed.The German may also have been letting off steam after he was jeered by England fans at the City Ground in Nottingham following a shock friendly loss against Senegal in June.Asked if he expected more from supporters at Wembley when England were playing so well, Tuchel responded: “Yeah, what more can you give in 20 minutes? Three goals, the way we attacked Wales and didn’t let them escape. “Even in their own half, ball win after ball win after ball win. If you only hear Wales fans for half an hour, it’s a bit sad because I think the team deserved big support today.”England fans engaged in their Wembley tradition of throwing paper aeroplanes when they felt the match wasn’t entertaining enough, with many leaving well before the final whistle.Tuchel stood by his controversial comments when he faced the media at his post-match press conference.“Good moment to explain myself. First of all, I said the support in Serbia was absolutely fantastic when we played last time. I said it and I meant it,” he said. “I love English football and I love English football fans and the support they give. But I think today the atmosphere did not match the performance on the field.”Tuchel is certain England will be backed by much louder support from travelling fans in Latvia when they resume World Cup qualification on Tuesday.England are on the verge of qualifying for the World Cup and could be certain to progress to the tournament if they win in Latvia, depending on other results in Group K. Former Bayern Munich and Chelsea boss Tuchel has now won six of his seven games since replacing Gareth Southgate.

His Excellency Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani met the US Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack, who is currently visiting the country. During the meeting, they reviewed the latest developments in Syria and discussed avenues of cooperation between the State of Qatar and the United States to support stability in the country.

England manager Thomas Tuchel is adamant there is "no curse" upon his side as he looks to end their near 60-year wait for a major international trophy. England's only previous major title came at the 1966 World Cup on home soil, defeating West Germany in the final.England came close several times to ending the drought under Tuchel's predecessor Gareth Southgate, losing successive European Championship finals, as well as reaching the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the last eight in 2022. England's women have enjoyed success under Sarina Wiegman, winning back-to-back Euros titles in 2022 and 2025, while the men's Under-21 side are also double European champions after backing up their 2023 title with victory in Slovakia in June."Not at all," Tuchel said when asked if he felt extra pressure due to the women's and youth teams' successes. "If it is something, then it is a good omen and I was so happy for Sarina and (Under-21 coach) Lee (Carsley) because they made it and they made an extraordinary effort and a huge success with back-to-back victories... It is possible (to win a trophy with England), there is no curse on English teams and it is a good omen and we will do our very best to follow their example."England face Andorra today in qualifying for next year's World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, before taking on Serbia in Belgrade on Tuesday. "I get a lot of tips, that's for sure, but always in a friendly manner," former Chelsea boss Tuchel said of his interactions with England fans. "Most of them just say, 'Bring it home, Thomas'. That's basically the task."Manchester City defender John Stones has withdrawn from the squad for the upcoming games with injury. Stones has not added to his tally of 83 caps since last October. "Unfortunately, John Stones just left," Tuchel said. "He came with minor issues, muscular issues, to camp and didn't progress as we thought and hoped he would. So, he left camp this morning (Friday) because we will not take the risk. Everyone else is available."Tuchel confirmed England captain Harry Kane will lead the side in the Andorra qualifier. "Yes. He (Kane) starts. There is no balance, the competition is on and it is World Cup season," he said.England only beat Andorra, a lowly 174th in the FIFA world rankings, 1-0 when the teams met in their initial qualifier in June. "We will face in both matches a deep block and a 5-4-1 for sure in the first match and it is the challenge to overcome that quickly and aggressively and play with more rhythm than we did in the first match (against Andorra)," said Tuchel.Latvia and Albania are the other two sides in Group K of European qualifying, with the group winners booking a place at the World Cup.