England kick off Tuchel era with Albania and Latvia wins

In the first international break of the new year, England embarked on their journey to next summer’s World Cup under new boss Thomas Tuchel with two shutout Wembley wins against Albania and Latvia.

Despite this, much of England’s two performances still exhibited characteristics of those laboursome displays under former boss Gareth Southgate and Nations League interim coach Lee Carsley, with Tuchel left asking for more from his players.

Tuchel, appointed last October, led former club side Chelsea to the Champions League title in 2021, yet his maiden squad selection for the initial round of World Cup qualifiers left some fans scratching their heads.

The ostracised Jordan Henderson returned to the England camp for the first time in over a year, after the former Liverpool captain was heavily criticised for moving to Saudi Arabia and then Dutch side Ajax last season.

In-form Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White was a notable omission at first, and despite his late addition to the squad through injuries, he remained unused by Tuchel.

Albania defended robustly for the duration of the evening

In Friday’s fixture with Albania, defenders Dan Burn and Myles Lewis-Skelly both started the game to make their senior international debuts. Burn’s inclusion at 32 capped off a memorable week for him,  having scored in the League Cup final days before as Newcastle won their first major domestic honour in seventy years.

Tuchel also kept faith in Manchester City star Phil Foden, starting him on the right flank despite his disappointing European Championships campaign last summer and frustrating club form this season.

Backed by an impressive travelling contingent in the designated away section of Wembley, as well as thousands of fellow fans who had snapped up tickets in the home section, Albania defended robustly for the duration of the evening, but were undone by strikes from debutant Lewis-Skelly and captain Harry Kane.

Burn was also denied a debut goal late in the first half on Friday, his header from an outswinging Declan Rice corner cannoning off the crossbar.

The visitors really only proved a threat upon the introduction of English-born talisman Armando Broja at the hour mark, and were denied an equaliser soon after by an outstanding last-ditch tackle from Ezri Konsa on Albanian winger Jasir Asani who was bearing down on Jordan Pickford.

Despite the result, England were noticeably wasteful in front of goal with both Kane and Bellingham failing to convert multiple goalscoring opportunities, and Tuchel’s talented side did not cut through Albania as fans hoped they might.

Marcus Rashford was another surprising inclusion on Friday having been sent out on loan to Aston Villa to recoup some rare game time this season, and while he proved a threat from wide positions across both fixtures, he could not deliver any end product.

Tuchel had brought on attackers Anthony Gordon, Morgan Rogers, and Jarrod Bowen for the last quarter of an hour on Friday just before Kane doubled the England lead, and his tactical adjustments paying off would become the theme of the weekend.

Tuchel had made four changes to his side that had started three days prior

After a particularly dull opening hour against Latvia on Monday, in which England could only muster up the one strike courtesy of a spectacular free kick from Reece James, the dropped Foden and Eberechi Eze were both introduced at the hour. The hosts finally seized control of the game through goals from Kane and Eze, with Foden integral to both.

Tuchel had made four changes to his side that had started three days prior, Marc Guéhi and James stepping into defence while Bowen and Rogers shaped up the attack after their previous cameos.

Latvia saw a golden opportunity to take an unlikely lead squandered early on, striker Vladislavs Gutkovskis failing to convert into an empty net from the angle after a defensive mixup between Pickford and Guéhi.

Bellingham and Kane again saw multiple promising chances go to waste, and England’s blushes at the half were only to be spared by James’ free kick in his first international start in well over two years – as well as questionable positioning from goalkeeper Krišjānis Zviedris.

Rashford and Bowen switched flanks at the start of Monday’s second period, demonstrating Tuchel’s willingness to adapt when things aren’t going entirely to plan, and soon Bowen made way for the eventual goalscorer Eze. Foden was also soon to get his chance, these substitutions kickstarting England’s resurgence to seal the game.

The Three Lions resume their World Cup qualification campaign in June

Kyle Walker, Curtis Jones, and Henderson were called upon to see the game out on Monday, but still there was no sign of Gibbs-White who had been included in that night’s matchday squad.

England secured their second clean sheet in a matter of days under Tuchel in what was an encouraging start to life under the German, yet there will still be plenty to work on in terms of breaking these lesser teams down.

The Three Lions resume their World Cup qualification campaign in June with a trip to Andorra following the conclusion of the domestic season, before a friendly at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground against Senegal.