March 22, (THEWILL) – England commenced their World Cup qualification journey with a convincing 2-0 triumph over Albania at Wembley Stadium on Friday. The match marked a successful start for Thomas Tuchel in his role as England manager, with goals from debutant, Miles Lewis-Skelly, and captain, Harry Kane.
Lewis-Skelly made history by becoming the youngest player ever to score on his England debut at 18 years and 176 days, finding the net in the 20th minute after Jude Bellingham provided an excellent through ball. The youngster now stands as the third-youngest goalscorer for England, behind only Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen.
England dominated possession throughout the match, with Albanian goalkeeper, Thomas Strakosha, making several important interventions including a leg save from Bellingham’s diving header and a touch that sent Dan Burn’s towering effort onto the crossbar. The home side maintained their attacking momentum despite these denials.
Kane, who had narrowly missed with a header earlier in the second half, ultimately doubled England’s advantage in the 77th minute. The striker demonstrated exceptional control to bring down Declan Rice’s cross before finishing clinically into the bottom-right corner, registering his 70th international goal and becoming the first player to score in his debut under three different permanent England managers.
The comfortable victory places England at the summit of Group K after the opening round of fixtures, while also continuing the tradition of success for new England managers—Tuchel becomes the 11th consecutive permanent appointment to win their first match in charge of the national team.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
