Having made it all the way to the Euro 2024 final just eight months ago, the Three Lions looked to kickstart a new era under Tuchel with a confident display on home soil.
England duly dominated the early stages and their positive start was rewarded with a breakthrough in the 20th minute, when Jude Bellingham’s inch-perfect pass found Lewis-Skelly, who tucked a low finish between the legs of Thomas Strakosha.
In scoring, the Arsenal man became the youngest player in history to net on his senior Three Lions debut.
While Albania gradually grew into the contest as the first half progressed, England remained the more threatening of the two sides in the final third, with Bellingham seeing a poked effort smartly saved by Strakosha.
The hosts continued to probe for a second as half-time approached, but Berat Djimsiti produced a superb block to deny Harry Kane’s goal-bound strike, while Dan Burn powered a trademark header agonisingly against the bar.
Grateful to still be only one goal behind, the visitors showed more defensive resilience at the start of the second half, limiting Tuchel’s side to very little in terms of clear-cut chances.
Kane glanced a tricky header wide of the far post, but that was as close as England came to extending their lead as time ticked into the final 20 minutes, with Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen and Morgan Rogers all being introduced into the action.
The all-important second goal finally arrived in the 77th minute, when Kane took a sublime touch to control Declan Rice’s delivery before sweeping a clinical finish into the bottom corner for his 70th international strike.
That moment of brilliance from the England captain all but ended the match as a contest, allowing the Three Lions to coast through the closing stages and extend their dominant head-to-head record to seven wins out of seven.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Myles Lewis-Skelly (England)
