England thrive in Thomas Tuchel’s debut as Jude Bellingham stars and an answer at left back finally emerges

London – Thomas Tuchel’s term of office when the England manager was on his way on Friday in solid as non-spectacular fashion, goals in both half who achieved a 2-0 victory over Albania in their opening-worldbeker qualification match. Myles Lewis-Skelly marked his senior debut on excellent fashion, in which 19 minutes of dominance of the hosts with the opening goal was closed, sliding backwards to claim the pass of Jude Bellingham by claiming five bodies and swallowing his first international goal.

England might have had more in a first half of the intensity, Harry Kane saw a shot blocked on the line and debutant than Burn that goes close with a thunderous header. However, Albania caused more problems after the interval, finding time to work around their opponents and try to send their wing players on the counter.

Just when the nerves started to focus around Wembley, a trusted figure yielded a relaxing balm. A nice first touch of Kane removed the cross of Declan Rice from the sky; After he hit the ball out of his feet, the record corner of England hit and then hit his 70th low point in the far corner.

There will be more difficult tests for Tuchel, and given the time it will be reasonable to expect a more extensive game plan instead of what felt like a repetition of Gareth Southgate’s usually effective qualifying competitions. For now, however, there were still a few remarkable adjustments and Tweaks to take away the victory.

1. England brings the energy early

A ball is not even kicked and you can already see a facet of England taking on the Premier League identity with which Thomas Tuchel wants to penetrate. Kane and Bellingham, two prime export to the continent, in line halfway, just on the edge of the circle. Before a ball is kicked, the last false starts, zooms in the Albania half and forces Alejandro Hernandez to start again. The next time Bellingham came out of the blocks at the right time and within a few seconds Albania forced to make their first enchantment of possession in a hoof -upfield.

If the tweaks were in possession a bit more subtle in the early exchanges, but so much that can be done when attacking a layer of block, but England did that at least with a larger zip somewhat remarkable, was how the men of Tuchel chased behind the ball behind each turnover. Within the first quarter of an hour, Declan Rice crashed on the field to block an attempt to clear, the ball did not land completely on the path of Kane and Phil Foden had almost revived a dangerous movement along the right flank with a full-throttle sliding tackle. Even Kane, who has not had a high press for the past five years, worked to close passing lanes.

This is perhaps the most pronounced early adjustment from England in Southgate. Tournaments in particular were all too prepared to fall into their defensive banks, given it understandably given that they have consistently reported in the last phases by giving up a half -expected goal. Such an approach had its advantages, but it also meant that the opposition had time to determine their resting of rest before the possession returned to England. Hence the many painful group matches against so -called inferior opposition where the ball seemed to move through the middle third part of the field with six frames per second. At their best, early, the energy that England brought out could only play bleeding in their ball.

“I was quite happy with the start and the structure, especially to control the counterattacks,” Tuchel said about the off-ball work. “We were structured, we tried to find the holes.”

Ninety minutes was not necessarily enough to dispel England from some of their more calming habits and tiring legs in the second half meant that Albania had more opportunities to look up and choose a pass. But for the excellent last man who defended Konsa by Ezri, an equalizer could have presented himself well. From the start, it is also worth asking how England will look at the 60 minutes on the child Sticky Summer Night in Miami or Mexico City with which they can be confronted in the World Cup 2026, when they start with something like the intensity they did tonight. That is a matter for the next five camps. This was about putting a tone, which brought a little more from the domestic style to the English game. The charges of Tuchel started in the right way.

2. Bellingham is shining, but the clock is ticking FODEN

In possession there were certainly encouraging signs for Tuchel. Curtis Jones and Rice use a stable platform where Bellingham could do as he thought it was necessary. And if a midfielder has earned the right to roam, it is someone who has proven in successive seasons in Real Madrid that he is as effective without the ball as with it.

On Friday, Bellingham was more progressor and maker than the disruptor that he often had at club level. When the chance came to fall deep, he would look to squirt the ball to the flanks or to bring it forward and to wear it in the teeth of the Albanian defense. England needed more of that, as Tuchel noted in his press conference after the game, especially when it ended with a pass that left two defensive lines in Buiste and Lewis-Skell with the best chance of the game.

The same dynamics did not come on the flanks. This was in particular FODen this was a different game that passed him. Out of possession, his dedication could not be confused, and there were times of a beautiful interplay with Jones. There were also no shots, no opportunities created and two details in the penalty area, four less than anyone who started in the front four.

Neither Marcus Rashford escaped a robust rating by Tuchel. “Both wing players were not as impactful as normally as in club football.” Especially on Foden he said: “We will encourage him to do what he does best, to go with defenders, to dribble while we played him out of the right wing today.”

Apparently this is a talent that has earned patience through the setup of England, but Foden is now 43 caps in. How many of them can he have produced a game that even approached his baseline versions in a shirt in Manchester City? Come the summer Bukayo Saka gets the chance to re -confirm his excellence with Foden and Cole Palmer away from the club World Cup.

If the Arsenal Forward stuck that place and Bellingham continues this clear start, the only place on the left on a left flank will be so struggling with the euros (and where England started with Rashford who apparently instructed to stay high and wide).

Tuchel saw enough last summer to know the then player of the year at that location. Time is possible for Foden to prove that he is worth it to assemble me.

3. Problem position? Dissolved

Just when you thought England would have a problem with left back Once more – The position where only Ashley Cole and Luke Shaw really excel this century – they indeed seem to have landed on a fairly special prospect. The youngest ever scored on his debut in England, Miles Lewis-Skelly went to Wembley with the same ease and authority that has characterized his breakthrough at club level. It is less than six months since there was the graduate Arsenal Academy that he was, in total more agricultural terms asked.

He, and the rest of the English game, got through quickly. In the time since the failure that the curtain has brought to his Premier League debut, Lewis-Skelly may have overhauled an Italian international and a Serial Premier League winner (among other things) to perhaps become Arsenal’s first choice. He has folded in a memorable way in Haaland, coming through weeks of Media -Spotlight and has delivered a quick road in the English team. Not bad at all for a player who had not played left back before he was put in the position by Mikel Arteta during the preseason.

“He is fearless,” said Lewis-Skelly’s Arsenal teammate Declan Rice. “He does everything directly from the field, and he is only 18. I knew he would play like this tonight because of the confidence he has. He kept his feet on the ground and it is only the beginning for him.”

That undoubtedly seems to be the case. And early on it is that everyone binds an 18-year-old to one position on the field, there is an extremely mandatory argument for both Arsenal and England that lets Lewis-Skelly roll back. After all, he can use the game in so many facets from that location on the field. In the minutes prior to that run behind the goal, Lewis-Skelly had set itself three in Building Up to the left of the back, bombed Marcus Rashford on pure wing-back-fashion and closed at the front line as an inside. No wonder Albania did not see the danger coming.

When Tuchel wanted to add an extra body high on the field, it was up to Lewis-Skelly that he turned, the teenager went up to an eight “because we wanted to take more risks and come closer to players.” From a left rear berth, England received a defensive midfield, a ball progressor and a defender, all in one package. It seems easy to present the continuous debate about whether both Tuchel and Arteta Lewis-Skelly should recover in his role of his childhood in midfield so that he can do that Real Impact the game, just as said about Trent Alexander-Arnold. And yet, the only thing that this fearless young person does on a consistent basis really has the game really influences the game in a positive way. Why would anyone want to change that?