England take on Albania at Wembley in Thomas Tuchel’s first game in charge. The German coach has been appointed on an 18-month contract through to the 2026 World Cup and England begin that journey as their qualifying campaign gets underway.
Tuchel has wasted no time explaining where England fell short under Gareth Southgate, saying that he felt the team were “afraid” during last summer’s Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain. “I want us to play with excitement and the hunger and desire to win,” Tuchel said. “And the acceptance of failure is part of it, especially in football.”
Tuchel arrives with an impressive CV, that includes winning the Champions League with Chelsea, and made a number of eye-catching calls when naming his first squad, including a recall for former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson.
Now all eyes are on Tuchel’s first England line-up, with Newcastle’s Carabao Cup final hero Dan Burn and Arsenal teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly making their debuts alongside a recalled Marcus Rashford, as the Three Lions look to hit the ground running in their World Cup qualifying group.
Follow live updates from Wembley ahead of Tuchel’s first game in charge, below:
England 0-0 Albania
13 mins: A touch for Jones in the box, but pinned onto the byline. He almost wriggles through to set up Kane but Albania clear.
England 0-0 Albania
12 mins: Dan Burn wins a bullet header on the halfway line, after Albania went long. It almost leads to an England chance as Kane, dropping deep, spins a ball towards Rashford. It runs a touch too long and Albania clear.
England 0-0 Albania
11 mins: A first proper touch for Rashford, but he can’t find Bellingham with the pull-back.
Rashford goes again but there’s no room in the box and England’s move breaks down. Walker quickly regains it and England start again.
England 0-0 Albania
10 mins: Lewis-Skelly passes his first little defensive test, as he scampers back to cut out the pass from Asani and draws a foul facing his own goal.
England 0-0 Albania
7 mins: I think we’ve all seen England games at Wembley where they dominate the ball as the opposition sit deep… and very little happens. Let’s see if Tuchel’s England can find a way through because Albania have everyone positioned behind the ball.
A long switch to Foden goes out of play.
England 0-0 Albania
4 mins: After a period of two to three minutes on the ball, Walker clips a pass to Bellingham, who breaks into the box. It almost falls to the Real Madrid star but Albania clear.
England 0-0 Albania
2 mins: Plenty of early touches for the England midfield, with Jones, Rice and Bellingham seeing lots of it. Albania are very deep. Foden and Rashford are staying wide, and Kane is keeping clear on the edge of the box.
England 0-0 Albania
1 min: Albania are no mugs. They scored after just 30 seconds against Italy at the Euros. Fortunately for Tuchel, England have avoided that at Wembley. Pickford takes an early free kick long.
KICK-OFF! England 0-0 Albania
We are underway at Wembley! The Thomas Tuchel era has started.
England vs Albania
A banner behind one of the goals reads:
“Welcome to the home of football, Thomas”.
Source: independent.co.uk
