- Thomas Tuchel takes charge of his first game as England manger vs Albania
- The German manager has named Kyle Walker in his first ever starting XI
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Is England’s squad good enough to win the World Cup?
Thomas Tuchel takes charge of his first game as England boss on Friday night in the Three Lions’ opening World Cup qualification game against Albania at Wembley.
And the German manager has named Kyle Walker in his first ever Three Lions starting XI.
The AC Milan defender fended off stiff competition from Newcastle’s Tino Livramento and Chelsea’s Reece James to claim the starting right back spot against Albania.
Walker, 34 is nearing in on 100 senior caps for his nation, with today’s start taking him up 94.
Marcus Rashford also makes his valiant return to the Three Lions squad, earning his first international start since November 2023 following a resurgence in his form since making the move from Manchester United to Aston Villa.
Six days from his heroics against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup Dan Burn has been handed his first ever international cap by Tuchel, whilst Myles Lewis-Skelly also make his England debut tonight.
Kyle Walker has been included in Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI for his first game in charge of the Three Lions
Dan Burn has been handed his England debut following his heroics for Newcastle last week
Marc Guehi, who was a regular starter for England at Euro 2024, has been relegated to the bench.
Guehi started all but one game for England during last summer’s tournament, only being benched for the Three Lions’ penalty shootout win over Switzerland in the quarter-final.
Tuchel opting for Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa over the Crystal Palace centre back instead.
Ahead of what fans hope will be the start of a successful reign, Tuchel delivered a damning assessment of England’s style under predecessor Gareth Southgate at Euro 2024.
Listing the ingredients missing, Tuchel said: ‘The identity, the clarity, the rhythm, the repetition of patterns, the freedom of player, the expression of player, the hunger. They were more afraid to drop out of the tournament in my observation than having the excitement and hunger to win.’
On what he wants from England instead, as they face Albania on Friday night and Latvia on Monday, Tuchel said: ‘I want that when the opponents come out and see our team lined up in the tunnel that they know, oofff, this is going to be tough, they will give us a hard time, these guys are individually good, they play in the best clubs but, oofff, these guys, they seem to be close friends, they seem to be ready to die for each other, this is going to be a tough time.
‘You can be sure that if I say something in a press conference, I have addressed it to the players. The players know my assessment (of Euro 2024) but it’s not even addressed backwards.
‘It’s addressed “what I want now”. The message is up front. I felt they were holding back – the group did not play with enough excitement and togetherness to make it happen.’
Tuchel has handed England debuts to Dan Burn and Myles Lewis-Skelly
18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly also makes his senior international debut this evening
England enter this year’s World Cup qualification phase ranked as the No 4 team in the world by FIFA.
Joining Tuchel’s side in Group K are Albania, Andorra, Latvia and Serbia.
The winner of the group will secure automatic qualification to the 2026 World Cup in North America, while second place will have to go through another qualifying phase; the bottom four teams come up empty.
Should England fall to Albania on Friday, Tuchel would become only the second permanent boss to lose his first game in the dugout. In fact, not only have England’s last 10 permanent bosses avoided defeat but all have won their first matches in charge.
The run goes back to Graham Taylor in 1990, when his side ran out 1-0 victors over Hungary at Wembley.
