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HALF TIME: England 1-0 Albania
It’s not exactly been a classic, which may explain why the referee blows for half-time on 44 minutes and 57 seconds.
44 min: Albania calm things down with a rare period of possession of their own. It ends with Asani larruping a wild shot miles over the bar from distance. Asani springs up and claims a corner, the ball seemingly flicking off the sock of Jones, but the referee’s not having it, and the Albania forward nearly talks himself into the book. He pipes down just in time.
42 min: One corner leads to another, and that man Burn does what that man Burn does, rising highest and planting a header goalwards. A combination of Strakosha and the crossbar denies England a second debut goal of the evening. Nothing comes of the third corner. We were so close to the completion of Dan Burn’s perfect week!
40 min: Walker gets clear down the right and cuts back from the byline. Bellingham flies in, looking to Keith Houchen home with a spectacular diving header from six yards. Strakosha sticks out a leg to block brilliantly. The ball rebounds to Kane, who slams goalward and prepares to celebrate, only for Djimisti to arrive from nowhere, extend a leg, and deflect over the bar. Kane puts his head in his hands. Denied!
39 min: Back at Wembley, England continue to boss possession. Albania continue to sit deep.
37 min: The game goes quiet. In lieu of meaningful action at Wembley, and having just clicked on that 2002 Berti Vogts-infused MBM, how about a game of On The Oche with David Narey? Ah the simpler, more innocent days of Guardian Unlimited Football. We made our own fun back then.
34 min: Bellingham enters the box down the left and tries to Lewis-Skelly the ball under Strakosha. The keeper smothers the attempted cute poke.
32 min: Djimsiti is booked for protesting the award of a free kick after a garden-variety foul committed by Asani on Bellingham. Kane running half the length of the pitch to make his own feelings known probably didn’t help the Albanian captain.
30 min: The England defence creaked alarmingly under very little pressure there. So despite the tilt of the game, nothing’s perfect under the new regime yet. “We’re all understandably more skeptical of the value of possession but I’m going to go stat nerd here and say Albania having 8% possession is bad for them.” A convincing argument there courtesy of Zach Neeley.
28 min: From that set piece, England get in a bit of a muddle, allowing Ajeti opportunity to shoot. His effort is blocked, and he claims a penalty, but the ball pinged off Burn’s backside. Then the flag goes up for offside.
27 min: Balliu feeds Laci down the right. Laci’s cross hits the outside of the right-hand post, Pickford flapping, then off Burns and out for the first corner of the evening.
25 min: Balliu blazes down the right, making Albania’s first determined run of the night. But he can’t get past the busy Bellingham.
23 min: Albania are now pressing further upfield. Not that they’re seeing any more of the ball. Whether opening up is a good idea remains to be seen. “All this talk of Tommy Tuchel is only ‘so much blether,’ according to a Scottish pal of mine,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “‘We had a German coach decades ago who won a Euros as a manager and a World Cup as a player.” I left it at that.”
21 min: Lewis-Skelly makes sure to enjoy his celebration with the crowd. Arms waving in glee. And why not? What a player. What an impact. And to hell with the fun police.
GOAL! England 1-0 Albania (Lewis-Skelly 19)
England stay patient. Then suddenly turn up the gasp. Bellingham spins into space in the middle of the park, and slips a pass down the inside-left channel for Lewis-Skelly, who enters the box, holds off Asani, and pokes under the out-rushing Strakosha for a goal on debut! What a season the young Arsenal defender is enjoying!
17 min: Kane barrels down the middle of the park and into the box. He’s pestered from behind by Balliu and can’t get a shot away. Strakosha, finally put to work, smothers at the England captain’s feet.
16 min: Konsa shovels forward and nearly releases Walker down the inside-right channel. Albania clear. Foden whips in from the right. Albania clear again. Strakosha in the Albanian goal has had nothing to do so far, his defence well-drilled.
14 min: Jones slaloms elegantly down the right, reaching the byline and pulling back for Kane, but Asllani arrives just in time to hook clear. England slowly warming up.
13 min: Bellingham and Rashford combine again down the left, but a cutback for Rice is miscontrolled and a decent move falls apart.
11 min: Bellingham drops a shoulder as he advances down the inside-left channel, and suddenly England make ground into that final third. He tries a one-two with Rashford but it doesn’t quite come off. For a second, that looked promising.
9 min: This is all England in terms of possession – indeed Albania have hardly had a touch – but the visitors are holding their hosts at arm’s length so far. Nothing happening in the final third. Wembley has fallen a tad quiet as a result.
7 min: Walker goes dribbling down the right and tries to nip between a couple of black-and-red shirts. He falls over and expects a free kick, but he’s not getting one. Throw to Albania. Walker briefly considers engaging the linesman in a philosophical back-and-forth, but then thinks better of it.
5 min: Konsa loops a pass down the middle and nearly finds Bellingham on the penalty spot. Ajeti extends a leg to trap and clear, though he needs two swipes of that leg to complete the first part of that defensive action. For a second, it looked as though he’d present Bellingham with a big chance, but no.
3 min: Albania sit back in a low block. Rice is seeing a lot of the ball during these early exchanges, prompting this way and that.
2 min: England quickly snaffle possession and pass it around the back awhile. Everyone finding their feet.
Albania get the ball rolling. This is England’s 20th World Cup qualifier in the new Wembley, and they’ve yet to lose one, or fail to score in one.
A minute to remember 1966 World Cup squad member George Eastham, who passed in December. The warmest applause for one of the greats.
The teams are out! England in white, Albania black and red. We’ll be off once the national anthems are sung, or not sung, enjoyed or endured, whatever folk choose, however they see it, live and let live.
Thomas Tuchel talks to ITV. “Big occasion … I’m a bit nervous … but more excited … happy to get the journey going … it was a very simple decision to bring [Dan Burn into the squad] … he had a huge final and impact here some days ago … we did not want to disturb his wave … he is on a good run … it could have been Levi Colwill but we opted for Dan … I can absolutely understand how everyone loves [Myles Lewis-Skelly] … a big personality ... a big character … he is ready to go … [Marcus Rashford] is a calm guy … we got some smiles out of him … he enjoys being back in camp … Anthony Gordon comes off the back of a red card and some missed games so it was a close race … bring the energy … we play on the front foot … aggressive and attacking … don’t lose the intensity … they have good football players … we need to be aware but we are ready to go.”
Albania assistant coach Pablo Zabaleta, once of Manchester City and West Ham, speaks to ITV. “It’s great to be back in England, that’s for sure … we expect a very difficult match … they have a new coach … new players … new ideas … we focus … we are positive … play with belief … we have a good team … we are organised and don’t concede much at the back … we can have some chances … it’s going to be tough but we need to be positive.”
… but now I come to think about it, it’s probably more relevant to relive the last time England met Albania, isn’t it. Here’s how they fared home and away during the qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup.
Retro MBM department. Walker’s first game for England was against then-world-champions Spain in 2011. Fancy reliving that one? A game decided by Frank Lampard’s second-half header from three inches out? No? OK, but the option’s there to click below if you change your mind.
Kyle Walker – who made his debut under Fabio Capello and has subsequently played for Roy Hodgson, Sam Allardyce, Gareth Southgate and Lee Carsley – talks to ITV. “It’s been good … it’s exciting … a new era … I fully enjoyed it under Gareth Southgate … many great memories … turn the page and start again … Tuchel wants a high-intensity game … energy … being smart as well … we don’t want it to be 6-6 … we want to win at the end of the day.”
Thomas Tuchel begins his reign as England manager by handing out two new caps. Man-of-the-moment Dan Burn, a scorer at Wembley five days ago as Newcastle slaked their 70-year domestic thirst, and Arsenal prodigy Myles Lewis-Skelly are the debutants. Marcus Rashford makes his first start for England since facing Malta in November 2023.
Albania are captained by Atalanta defender Berat Djimsiti. Kristjan Asllani of Internazionale and Rangers winger Nedim Bajrami also start. Armando Broja, currently on loan at Everton, is on the bench. Their manager Sylvinho, formerly of Arsenal and Manchester City, played at the old Wembley for Brazil in a 1-1 draw in 2000, and was assistant boss of the Seleção at the new Wembley in 2017, when England and Brazil played out a goalless draw.
The teams
England: Pickford, Walker, Konsa, Burn, Lewis-Skelly, Rice, Jones, Foden, Bellingham, Rashford, Kane.
Subs: Dean Henderson, Trafford, James, Guehi, Jordan Henderson, Colwill, Eze, Rogers, Gordon, Solanke, Bowen, Livramento.
Albania: Strakosha, Balliu, Ajeti, Djimsiti, Aliji, Laci, Ramadani, Asllani, Asani, Uzuni, Nedim Bajrami.
Subs: Kastrati, Sherri, Shehu, Manaj, Mihaj, Kumbulla, Medon Berisha, Muci, Ismajli, Pajaziti, Hoxha, Broja.
Referee: Alejandro Hernandez (Spain).
Preamble
It’s the start of England’s bid to win the 2026 World Cup. It’s the first game of the Thomas Tuchel era. It’s a showdown with Albania, who are zero-and-six against the Three Lions, England having rattled up an historical aggregate score of 19-1. On balance, then, this is intriguing rather than exciting, though it’ll be quite the story should the Kuqezinjtë – the Red and Blacks – break precedent and steal away from Wembley with a point or more. It’s number four in the Fifa rankings versus number 65. It should be a home banker. It kicks off at 7.45pm GMT. And it’s on.
