Last year, the England national team played in League B of the Nations League. "Three Lions" quite easily fulfilled the task of returning to the elite division, taking the final first place in their quartet. This result in March 2025 makes the English football squad very different from other elite teams on the continent. While France, Germany, Portugal and other top teams in Europe are battling to reach the final four of the Nations League these days, the Three Lions are taking their first steps towards qualifying for the World Cup. Wherever Latvia goes, the likelihood of reaching the destination is often close to zero. Reaching the EURO more than twenty years ago was the Baltic nation's only triumphant achievement in big football. While England were winning match after match in League B, the Latvians were losing in League C, which led to their relegation to the weakest division of the Nations League. Bookmakers have identified the home team as clear favourites for the upcoming game, offering odds of 1.02 on their victory.

The England national team after the lost EURO final sent Gareth Southgate into retirement. He was replaced on a temporary basis by Lee Carsley, who in the second half of the Nations League calendar managed to rebuild the team from pragmatic to more entertaining. If the Three Lions scored one or two goals in their opening matches, after the defeat to Greece in London they did not score less than three. After the appointment of Thomas Tuchel in early January, England have played one game. Last Friday, Kane and company hosted Albania, who did not allow them to hit the goalposts once. England won 2-0, and the match was attended by 82.5 thousand fans. Approximately the same number of people who came to the meeting with Latvia will expect their players to score plenty of goals and defeat the opponent.

Latvia have never really sought to dominate European football, but finishing below the Faroe Islands in the Nations League group did not even get their head coach sacked. This emphasises that this level of play is a reality for the Latvian national team. The Baltic national team is 126 times cheaper than England's squad and will get four or five goals from them in London.