England vs Albania: Prediction, expected line-ups, how to watch and stats
England kick off the Thomas Tuchel era under the Wembley arch on Friday night as they host Albania in a World Cup qualifier, looking to begin their campaign in style.
Tuchel takes charge of an England side who have all the ingredients of a squad who can finally break their trophy drought, they have big-game knowhow, strength in depth and a good balance of youth and experience.
The road to the next trophy-winning opportunity, the 2026 World Cup, begins with a clash against Albania and Tuchel, who has been brought in on an 18-month contract, has been given that length of contract solely with the aim of lifting the Jules Rimet trophy in 16 months time.
Tuchel has surprised a few with some of his squad selections, but qualification games like this have usually been a formality for England in recent years, so the German may see this as a chance to explore the options at his disposal.
Albania have never qualified for a World Cup, but they have been involved in two of the last three European Championships and they put in a respectable performance in 2024, finding themselves in a group with reigning champions Italy, eventual champions Spain and 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia.
They have improved in recent years and have benefitted from a group draw here which could give them a good chance of World Cup qualification.
Andorra, Serbia and Latvia are the teams which join these two in Group K. It’s a straightforward draw for England but Albania may fancy their chances too, however they will see the other games as better chances to get points.
It’s likely that this particular game will follow a similar pattern to most qualification games but it will be intriguing to see how Tuchel’s side lines up in the curtain raiser for his England career.
Here, we take a closer look at Friday’s fixture including team news, predicted line ups and where to watch.
England team news
Myles Lewis-Skelly could be in line for an England start, while Jarell Quansah and Dan Burn could win their first caps, albeit off the bench.
Reece James could also find himself in contention for a start, with the Chelsea man a Champions League winner in 2021 under Tuchel.
Jordan Henderson could make his first appearance for the Three Lions since November 2023, even many have considered this a backward step bringing in a 34-year-old who arguably isn’t playing at a Premier League level.
Marcus Rashford is another who could make a surprise return to the starting line-up, especially now that Tuchel has ruled Cole Palmer out of both the Albania and Latvia games as he struggles for fitness and form.
Pickford, Guehi, Rice, Bellingham and Kane are the likely spine of the team, as they were under Southgate at the Euros last summer.
England expected line-up (4-2-3-1):
Pickford — James, Guehi, Colwill, Lewis-Skelly — Rice, Henderson — Foden, Bellingham, Rashford — Kane.
Albania team news
Everton’s Armando Broja is the most familiar name in the Albania squad, one which also includes former Brentford keeper Thomas Strakosha.
The Albania side is expected to have an Italian feel, with seven-players in the squad based there including Atalanta defender Berat Djimsiti who will captain the side.
Bristol City’s Anis Mehmeti was a surprise omission from the squad, with the striker netting 12 times in the Championship this season.
Lazio’s Elseid Hysaj, Al-Ittihad’s Mario Mitaj and Mirlind Daku miss out with injury problems, while Etnik Brruti and Juljan Shehu have been added to the squad.
Albania expected line-up (4-3-3):
Strakosha – Balliu, Ismajli, Djimsiti, Aliji – Asllani, Ramadani, Laci – Asani, Broja, Muci
England vs Albania: How to watch and listen
England’s game against Albania will be broadcast live on ITV 1 and will be streamed on ITV X.
Live radio commentary will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live and the BBC Sounds app.
England vs Albania stats
– England have won all six of their fixtures against Albania, scoring 19 and conceding just one.
– The last time these two played against each other in November 2021, England won 5-0, with Harry Kane netting a hat-trick, while Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire also scored.
– There’s a 61 gap between the pair in the current FIFA world rankings, with England number four and Albania ranked 65th.
– Albania have won once in their last five games. A 1-0 win over Georgia in the Nations League in October 2024
– England have lost once in the last six. A 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley in October 2024
Thomas Tuchel (England) quotes:
On England at the Euros:
“I’ve heard a lot that it’s a heavy shirt. It is in fact not. But I know what the players mean. Watching the Euros I felt tension and pressure on the shoulders of the players and they were playing not to lose.
“I want us to play with excitement and the hunger and desire to win…and the acceptance of failure is part of it, especially in football.”
On playing style:
“We want to implement the togetherness and the joy and for everyone to feel safe to express themselves and give their very best.
“We want to play with a hunger and a joy to win and not with the fear to lose. Anything can happen in football – we know this – but the focus is on winning [and having] a higher number of touches in the opponent’s box, higher amount of attacks, higher amount of high ball recoveries.”
On pressure to win the World Cup:
“I don’t feel a lot of pressure in general. I feel the pressure but mostly I feel it as a privilege and mostly I don’t feel it at all because I am in the tunnel preparing the match and once it is there I feel the pressure. I feel the pressure when it comes to semi-finals and finals, I have the experience of feeling the pressure. I need it also in my coaching career to adapt to that and find methods to cope with it. It has helped me to have the experience in it.
“We have only six camps and that is why I was so strong on the point to bond with each other. It is also my responsibility to stay connected in between camps. To visit the players and call the players but the players between each other, they need to stay connected and take care of each other between camps. Otherwise it will not be enough just six times, 10 days, will not be enough to create a togetherness and the special atmosphere that is needed once we hopefully arrive in the US.
“Thinking about what we have to do and what the outcome is does not help us. The only thing that helps is worshipping every single day we have. The players did exactly that from Monday. It was a pleasure to be a part of it. It is not over, it is just the start.”
Harry Kane quotes on Tuchel
“I had the pleasure of working with him last year and I knew what he could bring to the type of squad we have.
“We’ve only been together a few days and it hasn’t disappointed. Camp after camp, as he settles in and we get to know him more, I think we will improve as we go. Ultimately, it’s about building up until next year.
“He’s very straight talking,” said Kane. “He knows what he wants and knows what he wants from his team. It doesn’t matter who you are or how many games you played, he’ll tell you the same as he will tell one of the young players what he wants. That’s a good standard to set.”
Sylvinho (Albania manager) quotes:
On England and next game against Andorra
“England is one of the best teams in the world. They have one of the highest level coaches. I am worried about both challenges. We will prepare well for both games, both physically and football-wise. The players will also prepare well.
On World Cup qualification
“It is a beautiful dream to go to the World Cup. It takes time to achieve it. We have to get points from these matches, because the rules here are more difficult. It is a difficult group, because for everyone it starts from zero. It can happen that you win, you lose, but you always have to enter the field to represent the country.”
Kristjan Asllani (Albania midfielder) quotes:
“England is a very strong team. It is a physical and very technical team. We know the England players very well. I believe that we should not think too much, but play with heart and soul. Let’s not go there as tourists, because every time we enter the field our mind is on victory. We know that it is difficult, but we will work hard for these two or three days and we will go there with a lot of spirit.”
England vs Albania prediction
England will be strong favourites to extend their winning run against Albania, with Tuchel looking to get his quest for the 2026 World Cup underway.
Usually these qualifiers are a formality for England, they have reached every major tournament since Euro 2008 and their record is impeccable against Albania, winning all six of their clashes and conceding just one goal in the process.
England win to nil looks good value, as does Kane to score a couple.
He is reuniting with Tuchel after the German coached him during his first season at Bayern Munich. During that season Kane scored 44 goals in 45 games across all competitions.
