A new era begins as England kick off their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign by welcoming Albania to Wembley on Friday night.
Thomas Tuchel officially began work on January 1, but this game really marks the start of his reign in charge of the Three Lions.
Here’s our statistical and historical preview of England’s first action of 2025…
Tuchel takes charge
England’s third foreign manager and the first German to hold the post, Thomas Tuchel is the Three Lions’ 16th permanent boss since Walter Winterbottom became the very first all the way back in 1946.
Of Tuchel’s 15 predecessors in the role, 12 have kicked off with a win. Two have started with a draw: Ron Greenwood in 1977 and, most recently, Bobby Robson in 1982.
That means one England gaffer has begun their reign with defeat – and what do you know, it was Alf Ramsey, who suffered a 5-2 thrashing by France in 1963. Anyone know if it worked out for him in the end…?
England aiming to maintain perfection
England have played Albania six times to date, all in World Cup qualification; they’ve won all six meetings.
The first clash came in the Albanian capital, Tirana, in 1989, with John Barnes and Bryan Robson on the scoresheet in a 2-0 victory for Bobby Robson’s Three Lions. The countries’ most recent encounter in 2021 saw Harry Kane hit a hat-trick in a 5-0 Wembley triumph.
In total, England have scored 19 goals against Albania – previously winning 5-0 at the old Wembley in 1989 – conceding just one.
Kane in good company
He’s already England’s record scorer by 16 goals from Wayne Rooney, but it goes without saying that Harry Kane will be keen to keep adding to his tally.
If the Three Lions captain finds the net on Friday, he’ll become only the seventh European player to reach the 70-goal mark in international football, joining Miroslav Klose, Sandor Kocsis, Robert Lewandowski, Romelu Lukaku, Gerd Muller, Ferenc Puskas and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Kane already has 35 club and international goals to his name this season, including three for England, the most recent of which came in November’s 5-0 Nations League thrashing of the Republic of Ireland at Wembley.
