From one debutant to another: Lewis-Skelly wounds and Kane finishes Albania for Tuchel's sweet start

They didn't shine, but they won! Thomas Tuchel won't remember his England debut game because of his team's marvellous performance, but a 2-0 victory over Albania will remain on his resume.

However, we certainly know who will have the most beautiful memories of one March night. It's Myles Lewis-Skelly! The boy who "exploded" with Arsenal this season showed his magic on the national team debut as well, scoring the opener in the 20th minute following Jude Bellingham's mesmerizing assist.

When you mix up Tuchel with delivery guy

Following the deadlock-breaker, the Three Lions struggled to score the second, wasting numerous chances over Bellingham and Harry Kane, while another debutant, Newcastle's Dan Burn, hit the bar.

Still, England's all-time leading scorer and Bayern Munich's #9, Kane, came to the rescue 13 minutes before the end, scoring his 70th goal with the national team and marking the Three Lions' qualifiers' beginning and Tuchel's debut with a win.

Despite having almost 90% of possession, the Englishmen had initial trouble trying to reach Albania's box. However, once they created a good chance, they used it! Jude Bellingham sent a marvellous pass inside the area for Myles Lewis-Skelly and Arsenal's gem took no prisoners, netting in his national team debut!

Since that moment, the pitch has completely "belonged" to the boys in white, but they just weren't focused enough to finish fantastic actions successfully. In the 34th minute, Bellingham wasted a one-on-one chance, while Real Madrid midfielder and the Three Lions' captain Harry Kane missed the unmissable seven minutes later.

Albania's custodian Thomas Strakosha stopped Bellingham from close range, while Kane's rebound effort ended up over the bar instead in the goal thanks to the visitors' captain, Berat Djimsiti, who amazingly blocked the Bayern Munich striker.

Still, that wasn't the end of England's wasted chances, as Dan Burn could have scored in his debut as well, but his header after a corner crashed against the crossbar.

Although they awaited the break with the lead, the more they missed, the more nervous the Englishmen got, giving Albania more space in the second half, which Sylvinho's team failed to exploit.

Tuchel tried to wake his lads up by subbing in Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen, and Morgan Rogers in the last quarter of an hour and only three minutes later, the German's team sealed the deal! Who else but England's all-time leading scorer?! Declan Rice crossed the ball inside, Kane received it ideally, and scored his 70th goal with the national team, making it 2-0!

Tonight's victory immediately launched England to the top in Group K, alongside Latvia which beat Andorra on the road 1-0. The fifth member of this qualifying group, Serbia, has yet to play their first match because of the obligations in the UEFA Nations League.

2026 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS – EUROPE

Friday

Cyprus - San Marino 2-0 (0-0)

/Pittas 55, Kakoullis 86/

Andorra - Latvia 0-1 (0-0)

/Sits 58/

England - Albania 2-0 (1-0)

/Lewis-Skelly 20, Kane 77/

Malta - Finland 0-1 (0-1)

/Antman 38/

Poland - Lithuania 1-0 (0-0)

/Lewandowski 81/

Romania - B&H 0-1 (0-1)

/Gigovic 14/