Myles Lewis-Skelly gave the Thomas Tuchel era lift-off with a debut goal as England beat Albania 2-0 in World Cup qualifying.
The Three Lions played their first tournament qualifier without Gareth Southgate at the helm since 2016 and Arsenal teenager Lewis-Skelly made it a maiden cap to remember as he slotted home in the 19th minute following wonderful work from Jude Bellingham.
The game-sealing goal came from a more familiar source as Harry Kane found a sublime touch and calm finish on the end of Declan Rice’s lofted pass to net a 70th international goal.
England’s other debutant, Dan Burn, headed a Rice corner against the crossbar before halftime, five days on from his brilliantly taken opener in Newcastle’s 2-1 Carabao Cup final win over Liverpool on this ground.
However, Burn was caught out a couple of times by Albania substitute Armando Broja and England needed last-ditch interventions from Ezri Konsa and Kyle Walker.
Some things to work on but, all in all, a satisfactory first excursion for Tuchel, with Latvia up next at Wembley on Monday.
Latest live updates | Team news and lineups | Where to watch where you are
England vs. Albania score
| Fulltime | Goalscorers | |
| England | 2 | Lewis-Skelly 19′, Kane 77′ |
| Albania | 0 |
Venue: Wembley, London
Referee: Alejandro Hernandez (Spain)
Lineups:
England (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Jordan Pickford (GK) — 2. Kyle Walker, 5. Ezri Konsa, 12. Dan Burn, 23. Miles Lewis-Skelly — 17. Curtis Jones, 10. Jude Bellingham. 4. Declan Rice — 7. Phil Foden, 9. Harry Kane, 11. Marcus Rashford
Albania (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Thomas Strakosha (GK) — 2. Ivan Balliu, 5. Arlind Ajeti, 6. Berat Djimsiti, 3. Naser Aliji — 8. Kristjan Asllani, 20. Ylber Ramadani, 14. 14. Qazum Laci — 9. Jasir Asani, 11. Myrto Uzuni, 10. Nedim Bajrami
MORE: Tuchel says England have ‘every right to be self-confident’ on World Cup mission
England vs Albania stats
| England | Stat | Albania |
| 12 | Shots | 3 |
| 6 | Shots on target | 0 |
| 1.66 | Expected goals | 0.06 |
| 75% | Possession | 25% |
| 865 | Passes | 299 |
| 4 | Corners | 1 |
| 9 | Fouls | 7 |
| 0 | Yellow cards | 1 |
| 2 | Offsides | 2 |
England vs. Albania live updates, highlights, and commentary
Fulltime
A job pretty well done for England, with debutant Myles Lewis-Skelly and all-time record goalscorer Harry Kane on target. Anthony Gordon is down again and it doesn’t look great. The whistle goes as he’s tended to. Latvia up next for England on Monday. Thanks for following along!
90+1 mins: Gordon down and looks in a bit of pain. Holding his stomach. He’ll continue.
90 mins: Five minutes to be added on as Lewis-Skelly makes way to a standing ovation.
82 mins: Strakosha has put himself in harm’s way a few times tonight and the Albania goalkeeper is making way. Elhan Kastrati between the posts for the visitors. Henderson replaces Rice for England.
78 mins: Double change for Albania with their race pretty much run. Hoxha and Pajaziti on for Asani and Laci.
77 mins: GGGGOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLL!!!!! Harry Kane!!!!!
That’s what he does. Rice floats one into the box, Kane muscles Ajeti out of the way, coolly turns and dispatches a finish beyond Strakosha.
A world class finish from Harry Kane! 👌
Goal number 70 for @England‘s all-time top goalscorer #ITVFootball | #ThreeLions pic.twitter.com/5kGsjhwbDy
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 21, 2025
74 mins: Now panic in the Albania box as Strakosha comes flying out for a header, and Kane gets there first. The visitors get away with a corner. Bowen and Rashford finally get out there in place of Foden and Rashford. Rogers also on for Jones, who had a really tidy night.
72 mins: Broja winning headers above Burn now too. Nurse! Asani is in and in comes Konsa with a fantastic last-ditch tackle.
69 mins: Broja gets the better of Burn again. Problems for England. The final ball is read expertly by Walker.
67 mins: Anthony Gordon and Jarrod Bowen are coming on for England. You’d imagine straight swaps for Rashford and Foden.
66 mins: Broja swiftly into his work as he outpaces Burn to get into the box. Nothing comes of it but an encouraging sign for the visitors.
63 mins: Bit of a dice roll from Sylvinho, who sends on Broja in place of Bajrami.
61 mins: Kane comes deep and lofts a gorgeous pass into the box for Jones. His cutback can’t reach Foden, who takes a whack on the back looking to get on the end of it.
59 mins: Kane glances just wide! England shift forward down the left through Rashford. Bellingham picks up the pieces and dinks across towards this skipper, who almost doubles the lead.
57 mins: Sloppy giveaway in midfield from Rice. England haven’t really got going after the break.
52 mins: Rice’s free-kick just over Konsa. Bajrami gets around Burn with a lovely piece of skill but he’s still very deep and the chance to break is snuffed out.
49 mins: England have a chance to break through Foden, but the Manchester City man’s pass has too much on it for Kane.
48 mins: Asllani delivers a dangerous ball into the box from the right. Burn glances it clear.
Kickoff: 2nd Half
Bellingham gets us back underway. No changes for either side.
Halftime
England lead through a goal from debutant Myles Lewis-Skelly. Dan Burn, also winning his first cap, almost made it 2-0 before the break. The hosts look comfortable and Jude Bellingham has caught the eye. Thomas Tuchel should be happy enough.
42 mins: Burn against the crossbar! The Newcastle giant gets up at the back post and a combination of Strakosha and his crossbar prevent him from scoring a second Wembley goal in the space of a week. Burn is the target again, as you think he will be all night, but Albania deal with the third corner in more assured fashion.
41 mins: Rice hangs one up to Burn, the obvious target, at the far post. Deflected behind for another.
40 mins: How isn’t that 2-0?! Walker darts to the byline and cuts the ball into the box. Bellingham’s header is kept out by Strakosha with his boot and then Djimsiti does incredibly well to deflect Kane’s follow-up over the bar.
It’s a great save to deny Jude Bellingham…
and an even better block to stop Harry Kane 😮#ITVFootball | #ThreeLions pic.twitter.com/wFialjxmI7
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 21, 2025
34 mins: Bellingham goes storming into the Albania box but can’t get his toe-poke past Strakosha. The Real Madrid man has been excellent so far.
32 mins: Foul on Bellingham, seems a soft one. Djimsiti certainly things so and gets a booking for telling the referee as much. Hopefully that doesn’t come back to bite him later.
26 mins: Errrr, Albania have hit the crossbar. That was weird. Laci got into some space down the right, his cross was diverted up in the air, Pickford was all at sea and Burn had to head behind. England deal with the corner.
19 mins: GOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!! Myles Lewis-Skelly!!!!!
Breakthrough for England and it’s the teenage debutant. Rashford came in-field, creating space for Lewis-Skelly to run into. Bellingham picked him out with a measured pass and he slots past Strakosha.
Myles Lewis-Skelly on his debut! 🤩
The first @England goal of the Thomas Tuchel era#ITVFootball | #ThreeLions pic.twitter.com/y9BvWydGt8
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 21, 2025
17 mins: Rashford does well to win the ball back high up and Kane tries to pick up the pieces in the box. Aliji does well to knock Kane off balance and Strakosha takes the ball off the England skipper’s feet.
13 mins: Curtis Jones goes scampering into the Albania box, some nice footwork to get around Asllani too but his attempted cutback for Kane is cleared.
10 mins: Rashford and Bellingham interchange positions to try to get something going but Albania hold firm. Looks like this will be a night of plugging away for England.
5 mins: The terms of attack against defence very much set here. Bellingham looks to make a probing run beyond Kane but Ajeti closes the door.
Kickoff: 1st Half
Laci gets us underway in persistent rain.
5 mins before kickoff: Here come the teams. Anthems time. Thomas Tuchel won’t be singing along. Which is fine. Don’t be weird about it.
30 mins before kickoff: It feels like a pretty big night for Phil Foden. The Manchester City attacker went to Euro 2024 as the PFA and FWA Player of the Year but endured a mixed campaign in Germany. In truth, he has seldom got back to that form. It feels safe to assume that if Bukayo Saka or Cole Palmer had been fit then Foden would be sitting this one out. But a player of rare gifts gets his chance to impress the new coach and must not let it pass him by.
55 mins before kickoff: Everton’s on-loan Chelsea striker Armando Broja, only recently back from a long lay off, is on the bench for Albania. Similarly, defender Adrian Ismajli would usually be expected to start but is among the substitutes after missing training on Wednesday.
1 hour before kickoff: Here’s the England team. Debuts for Myles Lewis-Skelly and Dan Burn. There are starts for Kyle Walker and Marcus Rashford, while Curtis Jones joins Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham in midfield.
Thomas Tuchel’s #ThreeLions! 🦁 pic.twitter.com/92k57ClsXg
— England (@England) March 21, 2025
1 hr 30 mins before kickoff: We’re about half an hour away from official team news. There’s mounting speculation that Dan Burn will make his England debut five days on from scoring in Newcastle’s historic Carabao Cup final victory over Liverpool on this ground. It’s been some week for the defender.
2 hours before kickoff. Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of the England vs. Albania World Cup qualifier. Or, if you prefer, the start of the Thomas Tuchel era.
England vs. Albania kick off time
This World Cup qualifying match kicks off in London at 7:45 p.m. local time.
Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA | Fri, Mar 21 | 2:45 p.m. ET |
| Canada | Fri, Mar 21 | 2:45 p.m. ET |
| UK | Fri, Mar 21 | 7:45 p.m. GMT |
| Australia | Sat, Mar 22 | 6:45 a.m. AEDT |
| India | Sat, Mar 22 | 1:15 a.m. IST |
England vs. Albania lineups, team news
Myles Lewis-Skelly, currently occupying Sylvinho’s old left-back position at Arsenal, is one of two international debutants in the back four alongside Dan Burn
Marcus Rashford is in from the start in his international return, completing the front three with Harry Kane and Phil Foden. Curtis Jones is selected in central midfield alongside Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.
England (4-3-3, right to left): Pickford (GK) — Walker, Konsa, Burn, Lewis-Skelly — Jones, Bellingham. Rice — Foden, Kane, Rashford
England subs: Henderson (GK), Trafford (GK), James, Guehi, Henderson, Colwill, Eze, Rogers, Gordon, Solanke, Bowen, Livramento.
Adrian Ismajli was a doubt for the visitors after missing training on Wednesday. The Empoli defender is on the bench.
Everton’s on-loan Chelsea striker Armando Broja is fit again after missing most of the current with an ankle injury but joins Ismajli among the substitutes.
Albania (4-3-3, right to left): Strakosha (GK) — Balliu, Ajeti, Djimsiti, Aliji— Asllani, Ramadani, Laci — Asani, Uzuni, Bajrami
Albania subs: Kastrati (GK), Sherri, Shehu, Manaj, Mihaj, Kumbulla, M Berisha, Muci, Ismajli, Pajaziti, Hoxka, Broja.
England vs. Albania live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch this European World Cup qualifying match across selected areas of the world’s major regions:
| TV channel | Streaming | |
| USA | Fubo, ViX | |
| Canada | — | DAZN |
| UK | ITV | ITV X |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| India | — | — |
