Key events
Show key events only
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
12 min: Bowen has seen a fair bit of the ball, mostly out on the right touchline. Eze, not as natural a winger, is yet to get into the game out on the left. There’s been plenty of movement and the Albania midfield are a bit unsure of themselves. Rice forces a corner for England.
Share
10 min: Bellingham on the right and Rice on the left are free to wander into attacking positions with Stones and Wharton holding. Albania are just about keeping it tight.
Share
8 min: It’s very fluid from England. Half the players are involved in a move upfield. O’Reilly finds Kane on the edge of the box and his first-time ball is too close to Strakosha with Rice running in behind. Slick.
Share
6 min: Hoxha wins a corner for Albania. Asllani takes and Bowen is there at the near post to head clear. That got the crowd up.
Share
4 min: Rice tests Strakosha. Bowen’s cross is headed up in the air and the Arsenal man controls the ball on his chest and hits it as it drops but the Albania goalkeeper gets down easily to gather.
Share
3 min: Interesting shape from England. It’s a back three of Quansah, Burn and O’Reilly in possession with Stones moving into midfield alongside Wharton.
Share
Updated at 18.04 CET
1 min: Bowen’s cross is hooked up and out for a corner by Hysaj. Wharton takes short, Rice finds Bellingham and his cross (or shot?) drifts out of play. Quick start from England.
Share
Kick-off
Declan Rice sends it back to Dean Henderson to pump upfield and we’re under way.
Share
A duet of well-dressed blokes with microphones lead us (well, not me) in renditions of both anthems. Classy.
Share
Berat Djimsiti and Harry Kane head out with their pennants. Kick-off in England’s final game of 2025 is moments away.
Share
Played 7, won 7, conceded 0. Easy as you like for England so far in qualifying. Beyond this group, they’ve now kept nine consecutive clean sheets in competitive matches – only two teams have done that in Europe before.
Spain are the only other team in European qualifying yet to concede a goal. For what it’s worth, Liechtenstein are the only team yet to score.
Share
Sylvinho has done a pretty fine job at Albania since taking over as manager in 2023. They qualified for Euro 2024 as group winners and gave Spain, Italy and Croatia a good run for their money at the finals despite exiting in the group.
Now they are two games away from a first World Cup having confirmed their place in March’s Uefa playoffs by finishing second behind England in this group.
A lot of their squad play in Italy but names familiar to British viewers include Nedim Bajrami of Rangers and the former Brentford goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha. Burnley’s Armando Broja, who turned down an England Under-21 call-up in 2019, is on the bench.
Share
Thomas Tuchel is hoping nobody does a Wayne Rooney today (or indeed a Cristiano Ronaldo) and gets themselves sent off and a suspension for the tournament next summer.
No red cards please. We are through and we are in a position with last man then the player holds the shirt he gets the red card. If there’s a doubt then it would be smarter not to do it.
If he goes in the last man example and if we can avoid it no red card of course. But I don’t want to make it too big a subject because then you have a cloud above you. But if you have the choice don’t do it.
Wayne Rooney gets himself a ban for the first two games of Euro 2012 in a qualifier against Montenegro. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PAShare
Harry Kane could make a bit of history today. He’s on 76 goals for England and will draw level with Pelé’s total for Brazil if he scores today. Here’s a look at how the Bayern Munich striker compares to some of the (selected) greats at international level:
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) 143 goals
Lionel Messi (Argentina) 115
Pelé (Brazil) 77
Harry Kane (England) 76
Gerd Müller (West Germany) 68
Ronaldo (Brazil) 62
Diego Maradona (Argentina) 34
So, what about the Ballon d’Or, Harry? David Hytner heard his answer to that question this week:
I could score 100 goals this season, but if I don’t win the Champions League or the World Cup, you’re probably not going to win the Ballon d’Or. It’s the same with Haaland, it’s the same with any player. You have to be winning those major trophies.
We’re in great shape at Bayern Munich so that maybe makes the odds a little bit more in my favour. Same with England. Hopefully, if things go my way for club and country then I’m definitely going to be in the conversation for a trophy like the Ballon d’Or.
Share
In other World Cup qualifying news, Portugal have joined England and friends at next summer’s finals after a 9-1 thumping of poor Armenia – without the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo. Hint hint. Bruno Fernandes and João Neves got hat-tricks.
And the Republic of Ireland have snuck into the playoffs at the last! Troy Parrott completed his hat-trick with a 96th-minute winner to deny Hungary in Budapest this afternoon.
Troy Parrott is the hero for Ireland as they beat Hungary in an amazing game in Budapest. Photograph: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 17.47 CET
Team news
Jude Bellingham is among seven changes to the England team that beat Serbia on Thursday. Adam Wharton makes his first senior start in midfield alongside Bellingham and Declan Rice.
Dean Henderson replaces Jordan Pickford in goal, while Jarell Quansah makes his debut at right-back, with Dan Burn partnering John Stones in the centre of defence.
Eberechi Eze and Jarrod Bowen play either side of Harry Kane in attack. Alex Scott could earn his first cap off the bench.
Confirmed lineups
Albania (4-3-3): Strakosha; Hysaj, Ismajli, Djimsiti, Aliji; Laci, Asllani, Ramadani; Bajrami, Uzuni, Hoxha.
Subs: Dajsinani, Simoni, Balliu, Cake, Ajeti, Manaj, Asani, Tuci, Pajaziti, Berisha, Daku, Broja.
England (4-3-3): Henderson; Quansah, Stones, Burn, O’Reilly; Rice, Wharton, Bellingham; Bowen, Kane, Eze.
Subs: Pickford, Trafford, James, Chalobah, Spence, Henderson, Anderson, Scott, Rogers, Saka, Foden, Rashford.
Share
Preamble
Well, you could call this a dead rubber. England sealed their place at next summer’s World Cup a whole month ago. Albania themselves secured a spot in March’s playoffs with a win against Andorra on Thursday.
But with the World Cup just seven months and a few games away, there is no such thing as a dead rubber for the England players looking to convince Thomas Tuchel that they deserve a seat on his plane to North America. Not even the likes of Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden can be sure of a place in the squad until it is named in May.
England have won on all three of their previous trips to Tirana, the latest being a 2-0 victory under Gareth Southgate on the way to qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. It was lockdown. Mason Mount scored. Kalvin Phillips was in midfield. Jesse Lingard came off the bench. Those were different times.
It’s a 5pm (GMT) kick-off today at the Air Albania Stadium. I’d like to hear your thoughts on how England have done in 2025 under Tuchel, how you expect them to fare at the World Cup and who you think should – or should not – be on that plane. Views from Albania are also appreciated.
