FIFA World Cup Qualifying - UEFA

England vs Albania, 2026 World Cup Qualifying - UEFA, Group Stage

· FIFA World Cup Qualifying - UEFA
  • 20': Myles Lewis-Skelly
  • 77': Harry Kane
FT
2 - 0

England begin Tuchel era with World Cup qualifying win over Albania

England debutant Myles Lewis-Skelly got new coach Thomas Tuchel's reign up and running as the 18-year-old scored the first goal in a 2-0 home victory against Albania in their World Cup qualifying Group K opener on Friday.

Match Commentary

  • 0': Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
  • 0': First Half begins.
  • 1': Ezri Konsa (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 1': Foul by Myrto Uzuni (Albania).
  • 10': Foul by Jasir Asani (Albania).
  • 10': Myles Lewis-Skelly (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 20': Goal! England 1, Albania 0. Myles Lewis-Skelly (England) left footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Jude Bellingham with a through ball.
  • 22': Foul by Marcus Rashford (England).
  • 22': Iván Balliu (Albania) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 27': Foul by Curtis Jones (England).
  • 27': Ylber Ramadani (Albania) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 27': Corner, Albania. Conceded by Dan Burn.
  • 28': Attempt blocked. Arlind Ajeti (Albania) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
  • 28': Offside, Albania. Myrto Uzuni is caught offside.
  • 29': Ezri Konsa (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 29': Foul by Myrto Uzuni (Albania).
  • 32': Foul by Jasir Asani (Albania).
  • 32': Jude Bellingham (England) wins a free kick on the left wing.
  • 32': Berat Djimsiti (Albania) is shown the yellow card.
  • 34': Attempt saved. Jude Bellingham (England) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Marcus Rashford with a through ball.
  • 34': Foul by Marcus Rashford (England).
  • 34': Kristjan Asllani (Albania) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 40': Attempt saved. Jude Bellingham (England) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Kyle Walker with a cross.
  • 40': Attempt blocked. Harry Kane (England) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
  • 40': Corner, England. Conceded by Berat Djimsiti.
  • 41': Attempt blocked. Dan Burn (England) header from the centre of the box is blocked.
  • 41': Corner, England. Conceded by Berat Djimsiti.
  • 42': Dan Burn (England) hits the bar with a header from the centre of the box. Assisted by Declan Rice with a cross following a corner.
  • 42': Corner, England. Conceded by Jasir Asani.
  • 43': Attempt blocked. Dan Burn (England) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Declan Rice with a cross.
  • 44': Attempt missed. Jasir Asani (Albania) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Qazim Laçi.
  • 45': Fourth official has announced 0 minutes of added time.
  • 45'+1': First Half ends, England 1, Albania 0.
  • 45': Second Half begins England 1, Albania 0.
  • 46': Offside, Albania. Myrto Uzuni is caught offside.
  • 47': Foul by Dan Burn (England).
  • 47': Myrto Uzuni (Albania) wins a free kick on the right wing.
  • 47': Delay in match because of an injury Myrto Uzuni (Albania).
  • 48': Delay over. They are ready to continue.
  • 48': Attempt missed. Qazim Laçi (Albania) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right following a set piece situation.
  • 49': Delay in match (England).
  • 50': Delay over. They are ready to continue.
  • 51': Foul by Ylber Ramadani (Albania).
  • 51': Myles Lewis-Skelly (England) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
  • 55': Foul by Kyle Walker (England).
  • 55': Naser Aliji (Albania) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 57': Foul by Marcus Rashford (England).
  • 57': Ylber Ramadani (Albania) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 59': Attempt missed. Harry Kane (England) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Jude Bellingham with a cross.
  • 63': Substitution, Albania. Armando Broja replaces Nedim Bajrami.
  • 68': Offside, England. Jude Bellingham is caught offside.
  • 71': Attempt blocked. Curtis Jones (England) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Declan Rice.
  • 73': Attempt blocked. Jude Bellingham (England) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Declan Rice.
  • 73': Attempt saved. Harry Kane (England) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Curtis Jones.
  • 74': Corner, England. Conceded by Arlind Ajeti.
  • 74': Substitution, England. Anthony Gordon replaces Marcus Rashford.
  • 74': Substitution, England. Morgan Rogers replaces Curtis Jones.
  • 74': Substitution, England. Jarrod Bowen replaces Phil Foden.
  • 75': Delay in match because of an injury Thomas Strakosha (Albania).
  • 76': Delay over. They are ready to continue.
  • 77': Goal! England 2, Albania 0. Harry Kane (England) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Declan Rice.
  • 78': Substitution, Albania. Adrion Pajaziti replaces Qazim Laçi.
  • 78': Substitution, Albania. Arbër Hoxha replaces Jasir Asani.
  • 79': Delay in match because of an injury Thomas Strakosha (Albania).
  • 82': Delay over. They are ready to continue.
  • 82': Substitution, Albania. Elhan Kastrati replaces Thomas Strakosha because of an injury.
  • 82': Substitution, England. Jordan Henderson replaces Declan Rice.
  • 83': Foul by Ylber Ramadani (Albania).
  • 83': Jude Bellingham (England) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
  • 86': Foul by Morgan Rogers (England).
  • 86': Kristjan Asllani (Albania) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 87': Adrion Pajaziti (Albania) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 87': Foul by Jordan Henderson (England).
  • 90': Ezri Konsa (England) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
  • 90': Foul by Ylber Ramadani (Albania).
  • 90': Substitution, England. Reece James replaces Myles Lewis-Skelly.
  • 90'+1': Fourth official has announced 5 minutes of added time.
  • 90'+3': Offside, England. Jude Bellingham is caught offside.
  • 90'+5': Armando Broja (Albania) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 90'+5': Foul by Anthony Gordon (England).
  • 90'+5': Second Half ends, England 2, Albania 0.
  • 0': Match ends, England 2, Albania 0.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/countries/500/alb.png&h=25&scale=crop&w=25&location=originALB ENGhttps://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/countries/500/eng.png&h=25&scale=crop&w=25&location=origin
7 Fouls 9
1 Yellow Cards 0
0 Red Cards 0
2 Offsides 2
1 Corner Kicks 4
3 Saves 0
25.9 Possession 74.1
3 SHOTS 12
0 ON GOAL 6
0.0 On Target % 0.5
0 Penalty Goals 0
0 Penalty Kicks Taken 0
249 Accurate Passes 811
299 Passes 863
0.8 Pass Completion % 0.9
0 Accurate Crosses 6
6 Crosses 14
0.0 Cross % 0.4
32 Long Balls 28
10 Accurate Long Balls 17
0.3 Long Balls % 0.6
1 Blocked Shots 4
5 Effective Tackles 10
8 Tackles 15
0.6 Tackle % 0.7
8 Interceptions 4
29 Effective Clearances 9
29 Clearances 9

Game Information

Competition: FIFA World Cup Qualifying - UEFA

Venue: Wembley Stadium
Location: London, England
Attendance: 82,378

WCQ - UEFA Standings

# TEAM GP GD PTS
1 England 4 +8 12
2 Serbia 3 +4 7
3 Albania 4 +1 5
4 Latvia 4 -3 4
Full Standings

Line-Ups

ENG England (4-2-3-1)

No. Name
1 Jordan Pickford (GK)
12 Dan Burn
5 Ezri Konsa
23 Myles Lewis-Skelly
2 Kyle Walker
10 Jude Bellingham
4 Declan Rice
17 Curtis Jones
9 Harry Kane
11 Marcus Rashford
7 Phil Foden

ALB Albania (4-1-4-1)

No. Name
1 Thomas Strakosha (GK)
6 Berat Djimsiti Yellow Card
5 Arlind Ajeti
20 Ylber Ramadani
3 Naser Aliji
2 Iván Balliu
14 Qazim Laçi
8 Kristjan Asllani
10 Nedim Bajrami
9 Jasir Asani
11 Myrto Uzuni

WCQ - UEFA News

Burley questions whether Ronaldo should be Portugal's WC striker
Burley questions whether Ronaldo should be Portugal's WC striker

Craig Burley reacts to Portugal's 5-0 World Cup qualifier win vs. Armenia, in which Cristiano Ronaldo netted a brace.

Thomas Tuchel: England ready to 'prove a point' vs. Serbia
Thomas Tuchel: England ready to 'prove a point' vs. Serbia

Thomas Tuchel believes England are ready to "prove a point" in Serbia after Saturday's forgettable World Cup qualification victory against Andorra.

Tuchel on England win: 'More positives than negatives'
Tuchel on England win: 'More positives than negatives'

Thomas Tuchel reacts to England's 2-0 win over Andorra in their World Cup qualifier and reflects on the team's progress.

2026 World Cup: Who has qualified, and how the rest can make it
2026 World Cup: Who has qualified, and how the rest can make it

The race for the 2026 World Cup is drawing to a close. Here's how it's looking around the globe.

England continue perfect WCQ campaign vs. Andorra
England continue perfect WCQ campaign vs. Andorra

Take a look at the numbers behind England's 2-0 win vs. Andorra in their World Cup qualifier.