Myles Lewis-Skelly and Harry Kane scored a goal apiece as England beat Albania 2-0 in World Cup qualifying to kickstart the Thomas Tuchel era on Friday, and you can watch the full match highlights below.
Three Lions Kickstart Tuchel Era With Comfortable Win
Looking to kickstart the Thomas Tuchel era in style, England welcomed Albania to Wembley Stadium in their opening World Cup qualifying fixture on Friday evening.
Tuchel, looking to leave his stamp on the side early on in his tenure, opted to hand Myles Lewis-Skelly and Dan Burn their debuts, with the pair forming the left side of the Three Lions’ defence alongside Ezri Konsa and Kyle Walker.
Marcus Rashford also returned to the lineup, having impressed since going on loan to Aston Villa in January, while former captain Jordan Henderson was named on the bench after over a year away from the squad.
Less than 20 minutes into the tie, Lewis-Skelly marked his maiden appearance with the opener, sliding his effort through the legs of the onrushing Thomas Strakosha from an inch-perfect Jude Bellingham through ball.
Aged 18 years and 176 days, Lewis-Skelly is now the youngest player in history to score on his England debut.
Bellingham then had a chance to double the lead, and so did Three Lions skipper Harry Kane, but the Albanian defence stood strong to deny the pair from adding to the hosts’ tally before the half time break.
Kane finally found a breakthrough on the 77-minute mark though, curling home his 70th senior international goal after bringing down Declan Rice’s cross in stunning fashion to seal all three points and a perfect start for Tuchel.
With the victory, England extend their winning run across all competitions to four straight matches. They also move to the top of Group K on goal difference, ahead of Latvia, whom they host on Tuesday night.
