Thomas Tuchel is set to take charge of his first England game tonight as the Three Lions take on Albania at Wembley Stadium (19:45).
England begin their World Cup qualification campaign by hosting Albania in what will be the first time a foreign manager has been in the permanent England dugout since Fabio Capello in 2011.
The hosts will be looking to kick group K off the best way they can and set themselves up to qualify for the next World Cup in USA, Mexico and Canada.
How will England line up against Albania?
England have an array of talent at their disposal ahead of tonights fixture. However, Morgan Gibbs-White, Jarell Quansah and Aaron Ramsdale are the three to miss out on the squad.
An England fan on Instagram commented his thoughts on Gibbs-White not being selected. @ashelyrossdavis: “Disgrace for dropping MGW (Morgan Gibbs-White) out the squad. Best number 10 in the prem (Premier League) atm (at the moment).
Thomas Tuchel could be set to announce a starting eleven which includes the likes of a debut for Myles Lewis-Skelly and a return for Jordan Henderson.
The team may look like this.
Goalkeeper: Jordan Pickford; Myles Lewis-Skelly, Levi Colwill, Marc Guehi, Kyle Walker; Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson; Marcus Rashford, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden; Harry Kane.
Recent form and head to head
England finished their UEFA Nations league campaign under Lee Carsley with a 5-0 win against Ireland in November 2024 and will be hoping to carry that momentum in to 2025.
The last game between the two sides finished a resounding 5-0 win to England in 2021 which was also a World Cup qualifying game. The goalscorer being Harry Maguire, Harry Kane (x3) and Jordan Henderson.
How do the fans feel?
Social media platforms, X and Instagram, have been full of reaction ahead of the match.
X @dec_sufc1: “For the first time in ages, I’m genuinely excited to watch England play football.”
X @YRKFootball: “I’d be more excited to watch this if he had picked some of the more growing talent and not font for the boring usual players…. Same old selection.”
