New boss Thomas Tuchel takes charge of his first England match as World Cup qualification begins against Albania on Friday evening.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the main talking points ahead of the Group K qualifier at Wembley.
Tuchel’s first game
Having been named Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor in October and started the role on New Year’s Day, Tuchel is at long last taking charge of his first England game. Friday’s match against Albania is the first stop on the road to next summer’s World Cup in North America and a sell-out crowd is heading to Wembley for the start of this new era. England’s previous 10 permanent managers have opened their reigns with victories, with Sir Bobby Robson the last to fail to do so. Only Sir Alf Ramsey, whose World Cup heroics Tuchel is looking to replicate, lost his first match.
Premier League is the way for Tuchel
Tuchel has cited his intention of playing the Premier League way, which will see England adopt an attacking, physical and exciting style, which will be music to the ears of fans who were frustrated by Gareth Southgate’s pragmatic approach. But the German still has the same problem Southgate had in devising a set-up which can utilise his plethora of attacking options. It remains to be seen where the returning Jordan Henderson will fit into his plans and whether he will have a prominent role on the pitch or whether it will be more a cheerleader role.
Will Kane still be able?
Harry Kane will have been happier than most that Tuchel was the man chosen to replace Southgate, given 18 months earlier the German spent over £86million to take him to Bayern Munich from Tottenham. Tuchel built his team around Kane at Bayern and looks set to do so again, already confirming that the striker will be his captain. Despite his incredible scoring record, there have been increasing questions over Kane’s place in the national team over the last 12 months, with interim boss Lee Carsley even dropping him for a crunch Nations League clash in Greece. However, his goalscoring form for Bayern this season, where he has bagged 32 goals in 37 games, means he remains one of Europe’s best strikers.
Burn, baby Burn
The best week of Dan Burn’s life could be about to get even better if he gets the nod at left-back. Friday’s match will see a glorious return to Wembley, five days after he scored for Newcastle in their Carabao Cup final win over Liverpool. At 32, he thought his chance had gone, but he could be set for his England debut. Teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly is at the other end of his career, having made a big impression for Arsenal this season, and he looks to be the other main contender to play left-back. Tino Livramento and Levi Colwill can also play there.
Another Albania walkover?
The statistics do not make pretty reading for the visitors. England have won all six previous encounters and only have a better 100 per cent record against Malta, San Marino and Luxembourg. Albania have only managed to score just once in those meetings and have never won a competitive match against a nation in the top 10 of FIFA’s world rankings. However, Tuchel says “there is no such thing as easy matches anymore” and is prepared for the side 65th in the world to make life tough on Friday. Albania, coached by former Arsenal and Brazil left-back Sylvinho, played at last summer’s Euros.
