KEIR RADNEDGE at WEMBLEY: Thomas Tuchel’s England had no option: all the usual expectations heaped upon the team’s shoulders had been exacerbated by the curiosity of a new manager. His team did not let him down, winning 2-0 with a goal in each half from new boy Miles Lewis-Skelly and old hand Harry Kane.

Albania had put up a livelier showing, in some ways, than runners-up England at the European Championship finals last year but offered no serious threat to England’s positive start on the road to the expanded, 48-team World Cup finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Tuchel, England’s third foreign manager and first German, had been restricted in team selection for the European Group K tie by the injury absences of Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka in attack as well as bunch of defenders. This meant a recall for Marcus Rashford on the left of attack and defensive debuts for Dan Burn, Newcastle’s League Cup-winning hero, and Arsenal teenager Lewis-Skelly who was ultimately man of the match.

Albania kicked off but after that it was virtually all England. More urgent interpassing than under Gareth Southgate forced a breach in the Albanian back line after only 19 minutes. Jude Bellingham slid a perfect low pass into the penalty box and Lewis-Skelly sprinted through to slide the ball past Thomas Strakosha.

This was only the second goal of his professional career.

Minutes later Burn almost marked his own debut with an own goal when his sliced clearance to  Qazim Laçi’s right-wing cross dropped down on to the crossbar before England cleared for a corner.

England came close to a second goal of their own five minutes before halftime. Strakosha’s outstretched leg blocked a diving header from Bellingham, Harry Kane’s follow-up shot was deflected over the bar by captain Berat Djimsiti and Burn headed against the bar from the corner.

Albania brought more fire to their play in the second half but the substitutions sparked more excitement among the crowd than the serious action. Tuchel waited until the 74th minute before demonstrating his own impatience with Bowen, Gordon and Rogers replacing Foden, Rashford and Jones.

The reward was as much instantaneous as coincidental with England’s second goal.

Declan Rice crossed from the right and Naser Aliji missed the clearance header, leaving Kane all the time in the world to turn and stab his shot inside the exposed Strakosha’s left-hand post. This was the captain’s 70th goal for England and 13th in his last 10 Wembley appearances.

A further change saw the surprisingly recalled Jordan Henderson – first Ajax man to play for the Three Lions – replace Rice in time for England to administer the last rites.

The teams

England: Pickford – Walker, Konsa, Burn, Lewis-Skelly (James 90) – Rice (Henderson 82), Jones (Rogers 74) – Foden (Bowen 74), Bellingham, Rashford (Gordon 74) – Kane.

Albania: Strakosha (Kastrati 82) – Baillu, Ajeti, Djimaiti, Aliji – Asllani, Ramadani – Asani (Hoxha 78), Laci (Pajasiti 78), Bajrami (Broja 63) – Uzuni.

Ref: Hernandez (Sp). Att: 82,378.

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