England vs Albania LIVE: Rashford starts as Burn and Lewis-Skelly make debuts with Tuchel taking charge of first Three Lions game
Live Blog
Updated: 19:54, 21 Mar 2025Follow all the action as Thomas Tuchel takes charge of his first game as England manager against Albania, live on talkSPORT.
Tuchel makes his bow on the touchline at Wembley in a World Cup 2026 qualifier after being named as Gareth Southgate’s successor.
The German begins the first international break of his tenure with two home games, one against Albania and the other against Latvia.
England will hope to make the perfect start under Tuchel, as the new boss looks to lead his side towards ending their 58 years of hurt.
talkSPORT commentary: Live stream HERE, app HERE.England XI: Pickford, Walker, Konsa, Burn, Lewis-Skelly, Rice, Jones, Bellingham, Rashford, Foden, Kane.Subs: D. Henderson, Trafford, James, Guehi, J. Henderson, Colwill, Eze, Rogers, Gordon, Solanke, Bowen, Livramento.Albania XI: Strakosha, Balliu, Aliji, Djimsiti, Ajeti, Ramadani, Asllani, Bajrami, Uzuni, Laci, Asani.Subs: Kastrati, Sherri, Shehu, Manaj, Mihaj, Kumbulla, Berish, Muci, Ismaijli, Pajaziti, Hoxha, Broja.You can follow all of the action in our live blog below…
England 0-0 Albania7′ Jude Bellingham almost gets a chance.
Ezri Konsa clips a long, lofted ball over the top, with Bellingham pointing to exactly where he wants it.
Konsa’s ball almost reached him, but Arlind Ajeti got a touch on it and prevented the Real Madrid man from shooting.
It’s been all England to start at Wembley,
Albania have barely touched the ball at all.
England 0-0 Albania4′ England start off with some comfortable possession.
Dan Burn and Myles Lewis-Skelly get their first touches in a Three Lions shirt as they knock it around the back.
They’re patiently waiting for a way through.
Kyle Walker is pushing very high up on the right, making runs beyond the Albania defence.
Jude Bellingham is playing just in off the left.
KICK-OFF! England 0-0 Albania1′ The Thomas Tuchel era is underway!
Can England make a winning start under the German?
The Three Lions would like to think so, with the players out to prove why Tuchel should be picking them for his squad.
Stick with us for regular updates…
Almost time! Here come the teams!
Wembley is buzzing to see how Thomas Tuchel’s first game goes and what the England performance is going to look like.
We’ve seen some fireworks inside the stadium to build up to the occasion and the fans are loving it.
You can follow the game live on talkSPORT, with commentary coming from Jim Proudfoot and former England internationals Stuart Pearce and Darren Bent.
To tune in to talkSPORT through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
Listen via the talkSPORT app here, or on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
‘I have to earn my right’ We’re less than 10 minutes away from kick-off at Wembley!
The national anthems are coming up soon but Thomas Tuchel won’t be singing it with the squad.
He explained why he won’t be when asked in a press conference, saying: “First of all, you have a very powerful, emotional and meaningful national anthem and I could not be more proud to be on the sideline and be in charge of the English national team.
“It means everything. But I can feel because it is that meaningful and it is that emotional and it is so powerful that I have to earn my right to sing it. I feel that it is not just a given.
“You cannot just sing it. That’s why I decided that I will not sing it in my first matches.”
Tuchel continued: “I will earn the right with results, with building a group, with doing my job properly and by creating a feeling where maybe even you guys say at some point: ‘Now it’s time that you sing it. It feels like you properly earn it and you’re a proper English guy now!’
“Maybe I have to dive more into the culture and earn my right from you, from the players, from the supporters, so everyone feels like: ‘He should sing it now, he’s one of our own; he’s the English manager, he should sing it.’”
Getting boredHarry Kane has come under regular criticism when playing for England, despite his incredible record.
He’s the Three Lions’ all-time top scorer and he believes some fans just get bored by the fact he’s scoring so much.
Kane said: “It’s like when Ronaldo and Messi were throwing these crazy numbers out there and the next season they’d score 40 goals instead of 50 and it was like they were having a bad season.
“People take it for granted and maybe a little bit with England as well. I’ve scored 69 goals and when you score against Albania or Latvia, or these teams, people just expect it so it’s not spoken about so much.
“Say if I was 25 now and doing what I’m doing, the excitement around me would maybe be a little bit different to what it is now.
“Again, that’s part of where we are with football and I’ve seen it with some other players as they get into their 30s.
“Maybe people just get a little bit bored of what you do, but I’m certainly not bored.
“I’m excited for these games and the games ahead.”
Pre-match facts Since Harry Kane made his first appearance in a FIFA World Cup qualifier in September 2016, only Robert Lewandowski (25) and Cristiano Ronaldo (21) have netted more qualifying goals among European players than Kane (17 in 14 games). The Bayern forward has also been involved in six goals in two games against Albania (4 goals, 2 assists).Jude Bellingham has been involved in 10 goals in his last 15 appearances for England (5 goals, 5 assists). His next appearance will be his 41st cap for the Three Lions, the most ever by a player aged 21 or younger, breaking Wayne Rooney’s record of 40 between 2003 and 2007.England have won 16 of their last 17 internationals against nations whose name begins with A (D1), keeping 15 clean sheets. The last ‘A’ nation to beat England was Australia at Upton Park back in February 2003, while in a competitive match it was Argentina at the 1986 World Cup.Unbeaten recordThe new England boss will have dreamt of a winning start with the Three Lions, and the odds may well be in his favour later.
Across Thomas Tuchel’s managerial career at club level, he has never lost on his debut match at each club.
Tuchel has a record of three wins and two draws, with 11 goals scored and only four conceded.
Can he extend this run tonight?
MAINZ 2-2 Bayer Leverkusen – August 8, 2009Wolfsberger AC 0-1 BORUSSIA DORTMUND – July 30, 2015PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN 4-0 AS Monaco – August 4, 2018CHELSEA 0-0 Wolves – January 27, 2021BAYERN MUNICH 4-2 Borussia Dortmund – April 1, 2023ENGLAND ?-? Albania – March 21, 2025
Credit: AFP via GettyNew blood Thomas Tuchel has achieved a 26-year England first already.
The German is the first manager to give two players their first-ever starts for England in his first game in charge of the Three Lions since Kevin Keegan vs Poland in March 1999.
Andy Cole and Tim Sherwood made their senior international bows under Keegan over two decades ago.
And now, Tuchel has emulated that by starting Myles Lewis-Skelly and Dan Burn for their first-ever caps.
He’s already putting trust in some new faces.
‘Never seen it before’ England captain Harry Kane has also been speaking about Thomas Tuchel’s attempts to improve their communication.
Tuchel held a presentation with the Three Lions squad earlier this week to put across his ideas to help improve mentality.
Asked about the presentation, Kane admitted to talkSPORT: “I’ve never seen it before.
“Ultimately we’re really close to being a success as a national team and having two European Championships under our belt so I think the coach knows it’s not about changing the whole system but finding different details that can really help us.
“He showed us that and it was great to see. It was something I’d not seen before and it was interesting to know that in certain moments of the game – it’s an interaction of talking to your mate when the ball’s out or someone is down injured and keeping people in the moment.
“You need that more than ever when things are going against you a little bit and you’re under a bit of pressure, talking to each other and keeping each other in the moment.
“It’ll be interesting to see how that improves over the next camps but it was definitely interesting to see and not something I was aware of.
“It shows an area that if we can improve, it could make a difference.”
Credit: GettyCommunication is keyThomas Tuchel then spoke more about those comments on England’s lack of confidence and excitement to talkSPORT.
And he continued to encourage communication on the pitch between his players throughout each game.
The new England boss said: “This is a part of it.
“I think you can affect matches with the interactions when the going gets tough and you feel the momentum shifting then it’s even more important to interact, get the messages across and keep pushing and encouraging each other.
“We felt that in the English team each of the players went into a bit of a shell – they gave their best individually but stopped interacting on the level that they did, for example, in the semi-final.
“You don’t win matches with it but you can influence the momentum – get back the momentum, stop the momentum of your opponent and I think they’re aware of it.
“The way that they are with each other right now and it’s a process that we’ve started and I think it’s important to have this kind of extra layer in international football.”
Credit: GettyEngland excitement These quotes from Thomas Tuchel have got all England fans dreaming this week, and tonight is the start of the journey.
Tuchel identified where the Three Lions went wrong at Euro 2024 and believes that the lack of excitement to play has cost them.
Asked if the team had a clear playing style in the Euros final against Spain, the German told ITV: “Not last summer, no.
“The identity, the clarity, the rhythm, the repetition of patterns, the freedom of players, the expression of players, the hunger – they were more afraid to drop out of the tournament, in my observation, than having the excitement and hunger to win it.”
He was then asked what the missing piece is and he replied: “Excitement. The view that people feel that’s the team to beat.
“That we arrive with a group to beat that we know already when we arrive, once we qualified, once we arrive that everyone knows this is the team to beat.”
Pre-match facts England are unbeaten in their last 31 FIFA World Cup qualifiers (W23 D8), the longest ongoing run of any European nation. Only once have the Three Lions lost their first qualifier of a campaign (W13 D3), losing 1-0 to Germany in October 2000 in their final game at the old Wembley.Albania have only scored one goal in six meetings with England, an Altin Rraklli strike in a 3-1 defeat in March 2001. It is their lowest goals-per-game rate (0.17) against any nation they’ve faced three or more times.England have won all six of their matches against Albania, only having a better 100% win ratio against Luxembourg (9/9), San Marino (8/8) and Malta (7/7).Energy, fire and hungerThomas Tuchel is excited to make his England bow one the Wembley touchline this evening.
And he’s hoping that the players can perform as well as they have been during his first training camp so far.
“I just hope so much that they can see what I see on a daily basis and they can transform it into the stadium because what I saw in the last days was amazing and was just a joy to watch and to be part of it,” Tuchel said.
“So, hopefully, we can transport this energy and this fire and this hunger into the game.
“I mean, it’s amazing. We have a full Wembley, it will be very exciting. I will be a bit nervous, I guess and that’s part of it.
“I’m always a bit nervous before matches, so this will not be different.
“I’m excited and hopefully we can prove the point and take the first step.”
Credit: AFPPerfect 10Each of the last 10 permanent England managers have won their first game in charge.
It is a streak lasting 43 years, all the way back to 1982 when Sir Bobby Robson drew 1-1 with Denmark in his first game in charge.
There has only ever been one Three Lions boss that lost their opening match.
And that was Sir Alf Ramsey, whose side was beaten by France in 1963, three years before he masterminded England’s only World Cup win.
So, Thomas Tuchel will be hoping to continue the streak of bosses winning on debut, extending that record to the last 11 managers.
He will be confident of a winning start in the World Cup qualifiers too, as Albania sit 65th in the FIFA rankings, with the Three Lions fourth.
England have also never lost to Albania before, winning all six of their meetings to date.
Credit: AFPWeek of dreams What an incredible few days Dan Burn has had.
Last Friday, he received his first-ever England call-up.
Then on Sunday, the centre-back scored at Wembley as he helped end Newcastle’s 70-year trophy drought in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool.
And now, Burn is making his international debut.
It’s what dreams are made of for the 32-year-old.
He is going to become England’s oldest debutant since Kevin Davies vs Montenegro in October 2010 (33y 200d).
Team news! Thomas Tuchel’s first England team is in!
Marcus Rashford starts for the Three Lions against Albania while Myles Lewis-Skelly makes his senior debut.
The young left-back has been rewarded for his form at Arsenal, as Rashford has found a new lease of life at Aston Villa.
This will be his first England appearance since March last year.
Dan Burn also makes his debut, continuing what has been one hell of a week for the Newcastle centre-back.
England XI: Pickford, Walker, Konsa, Burn, Lewis-Skelly, Rice, Jones, Bellingham, Rashford, Foden, Kane.
Subs: D. Henderson, Trafford, James, Guehi, J. Henderson, Colwill, Eze, Rogers, Gordon, Solanke, Bowen, Livramento.
Albania XI: Strakosha, Balliu, Aliji, Djimsiti, Ajeti, Ramadani, Asllani, Bajrami, Uzuni, Laci, Asani.
Subs: Kastrati, Sherri, Shehu, Manaj, Mihaj, Kumbulla, Berish, Muci, Ismaijli, Pajaziti, Hoxha, Broja.
Debut day Hello and welcome to talkSPORT.com’s line blog of Thomas Tuchel’s first game in charge of England!
The Three Lions are taking on Albania at Wembley in a World Cup 2026 qualifier, as Tuchel takes the reins.
The German begins the first international break of his tenure with two home games, this one and another against Latvia.
England will be hoping to make the perfect start under Tuchel, as the new boss looks to lead his side towards ending their 58 years of hurt.
