England head coach, Thomas Tuchel, praised debutant, Myles Lewis-Skelly, for his “natural confidence” as the midfielder found the back of the net in the qualifier against Albania on Friday night.
The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager guided the Three Lions to a 2-0 triumph over Albania in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier at Wembley Stadium on Friday 21 March, 2025.
Lewis-Skelly opened scoring for the hosts in the 20th minute after converting Jude Bellingham’s assist, and Bayern Munich forward, Harry Kane, sealed win with the second in the 77th minute, utilizing Declan Rice’s assist.
In his post-Albania comments, about Lewis-Skelly’s performance, the German manager said: “He is such an open character. He was amazing in camp. Full of confidence, full of humour. You see everything on the pitch, off the pitch. He does it with a natural confidence. That’s how he plays football. Full of courage and quality. He was decisive and opened this game for us.”
On his wingers, Tuchel said: “Both of our wingers were not as impactful as normally they can be, as they normally are in club football.”
On Foden, Tuchel said: “We will encourage him to do what he does best: go at defenders, go to dribbles.”
It’s Tuchel’s first game and first win as England manager.
Results:
FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualification (UEFA) – Friday 21 March, 2025 |
| Malta 0-1 Finland |
| Poland 1-0 Lithuania |
| Cyprus 2-0 San Marino |
| Romania 0-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Andorra 0-1 Latvia |
| England 2-0 Albania |
Photo: Myles Lewis-Skelly clinched the England Player Of The Match award following his beautiful debut performance for the Three Lions against Albania. @England
