Thomas Tuchel’s first England game: Five talking points from Wembley win

Before the game Tuchel created plenty of headlines when he said England looked like they had played with fear at Euro 2024 under his predecessor Gareth Southgate.

He also suggested he wanted them to play Premier League-style physical football.

Known for his tactical flexibility, nobody was quite certain what formation Tuchel would opt for – but he sent England out in a 4-2-3-1.

While Tuchel’s teams are normally known for their intensity and pressing, it was hard for England to show either against a team who set up as defensively as Albania, especially in the first half.

And the German is also still in the early stages of his reign – having only met his players four days ago for the first time since officially taking over in January.

“Thomas Tuchel’s had the squad for three days – you can’t expect to see a different England team,” said former Three Lions midfielder Leon Osman on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“We won the football match. Once we got ahead there was no urgency.

“We want to be entertained. There is a certain element of control which is good in tournament football.

“At the minute we’re not in a tournament, we want to be entertained.”

England had 74% of the ball and 12 shots to Albania’s three – with the hosts recording all six efforts on target in the game.

In the opening 45 minutes they completed 437 passes, the most on Opta’s records of any England first half.

The visitors did try to play more after the break, but England’s backline were only tested a few times by substitute Armando Broja.

The result itself was routine – new England manager or not. The Three Lions are unbeaten in 38 home qualifiers for World Cups or Euros since November 2007, with 34 wins.

“It was a difficult game from a spectating perspective,” said former England defender Matt Upson on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Once we got into the rhythm, it was very much an England game at Wembley against inferior opposition where they struggled to break them down.

“We are all wanting to see how Thomas Tuchel’s plan is going to happen.

“There are so many questions, but ultimately they have to manage the game itself and England did that well.”

Upson added that Tuchel probably learned to “understand what it feels like and looks like tactically” to play against a team in a low block like Albania’s.