LIVE on TS
England vs Albania LIVE commentary: Thomas Tuchel aims to maintain 43-year debut record in first Three Lions game
Thomas Tuchel will take charge of his first game as England manager tonight as the Three Lions take on 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.
4
The German begins the first international break of his tenure with two home games, one against Albania and the other against Latvia.
England will be hoping to make the perfect start under their new boss, with these fixtures being the opening qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
After another defeat in a major tournament final last summer, it’s now Tuchel’s job to lead the Three Lions towards ending their 58 years of hurt.
England vs Albania: A perfect 10
Each of the last 10 permanent England managers have won their first game.
READ MORE ON FOOTBALL
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, Tuchel will be hoping to continue the streak of England bosses winning on debut, extending that record to the last 11 managers.
Most read in Football
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.
4
- 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).
- 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 vs Albania: Team news
Cole Palmer has remained with Chelsea after picking up an injury in training over the weekend and won't be joining the squad.
That has seen Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White called up to join the team after initial controversy over his omission.
Jordan Henderson and Marcus Rashford have been brought back into the Three Lions fold by Tuchel after not featuring since before Euro 2024.
Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly and Newcastle’s Dan Burn are set for senior international debuts, with the latter coming off the back of a Carabao Cup triumph.
Here’s the full England squad for this international break:
- Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Southampton), James Trafford (Burnley).
- Defenders: Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (AC Milan, loan from Manchester City).
- Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Jordan Henderson (Ajax), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest).
- Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Marcus Rashford (Aston Villa, loan from Manchester United), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham Hotspur).
4
- 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 vs Albania: What has been said?
England fans must pump the brakes on their dreams that Tuchel can deliver the nation some long-awaited silverware.
This is the view of former Germany and Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, who believes his compatriot is wrong for the role.
"For me, he is not a traitor," Lehmann clarified on talkSPORT Drive after ex-Leicester star and Germany international Robert Huth admitted he wouldn't approve of an English manager being in charge of 'Nationalelf'.
"For me, he is very lucky to get such a great job. There must be a reason why he's not with Bayern Munich anymore. It's very difficult to get sacked by Bayern Munich.
"But we are happy for him that he's the English coach now."
Thomas Tuchel was lucky to get the England job, he won't win anything with them
However, despite Tuchel winning 11 trophies throughout his managerial career, including the Champions League, Lehmann believed he would not add to his haul as England boss.
"There's no such thing like being called a traitor," Lehmann said.
"I heard that for the first time from Robert. I like Robert and like sometimes his clear views.
"It doesn't make England more likely to win anything, but it's good for him."
"You have to look at Bayern Munich and how they played last season," Lehmann continued on why England's trophy chances have not been boosted with Tuchel in charge.
"Then you'll see it. If you understand football, you'll see it."
4
England international break schedule
Friday, March 21
- England vs Albania - 7:45pm, Wembley Stadium
Monday, March 24
- England vs Latvia - 7:45pm, Wembley Stadium
- 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.
- Albania have never won a competitive match against a nation who are in the top-10 of the FIFA World Rankings (D2 L17). Including friendlies, they did beat France (ranked 9th) 1-0 in June 2015 thanks to a goal from Ergys Kaçe.
England vs Albania: talkSPORT coverage
This World Cup 2026 qualifier will take place on Friday, March 21.
Kick-off at Wembley is scheduled for 7:45pm.
talkSPORT will have live coverage of the game with Adrian Durham your host.
Read More on talkSPORT
Commentary will come 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.
Visit talkSPORT BET for all the latest odds and bet boosts.
The game will also be broadcast live and free-to-air on ITV and ITVX.