LONDON — Thomas Tuchel’s unveiling as the third foreign coach in England‘s history may have irked some sections of the fanbase — but it seems that three news conferences and Friday’s victorious 90-minute opening salvo have done enough to generate a fair amount of belief from supporters and players alike.
The German term for “honeymoon period,” flitterwochen, roughly translates as “tinsel weeks.” It may not have particularly romantic overtones, but it is an apt term for the welcome party thrown for Tuchel at Wembley Stadium on Friday. Morgan Rogers‘ comments about his new boss’ “aura” were notable ahead of kickoff against Albania, as was the coach’s appeal for the public to “fall in love” with his team — but Tuchel and England’s honeymoon began in earnest with a pre-match firework display and a giant banner which welcomed the 51-year-old “to the home of football.”
By the end of the night, Tuchel was applauding the 82,378-strong crowd who had showed considerable loyalty to his team throughout an era-launching 2-0 victory to open England’s World Cup qualifying campaign.
Despite the slightly scrappy performance, a win is what Tuchel and England were looking for in the new manager’s debut. But make no mistake, this is a marriage of convenience for both sides.
The 18-month contract the coach signed in October is indicative of both parties’ singular focus on winning the 2026 World Cup. This is an England team that contains established stars and for many the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico is likely to be their last. The FA can’t afford another failed generation, and Tuchel wants to prove he is the man capable of ending the 60 years of hurt England have endured since Sir Alf Ramsey’s 1966 triumph.
If Tuchel is going to develop an all-conquering England team, he is clearly going to have to do it fast. In fairness, the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich coach has proved that he is able to deliver trophies in double-quick time before flaming out.
But will he succeed where so many have failed and translate his domestic and continental successes onto the international scene? It is the question that will define his England reign, and it is why, with just 20 training sessions and a handful of matches remaining before the 2026 World Cup begins, each outing in front of the cameras is laced with meaning.
As it happened, England started against Albania as they had done in so many of Gareth Southgate’s latter days in charge as careful, technically precise passing combinations in midfield barely troubled the packed Albania defence. But just as the now-familiar paper aeroplanes began falling from the stands, a moment of individual brilliance broke the game open.
Harry Kane‘s slight physical drop off has allowed Jude Bellingham to take on the mantle as England’s main character over the past 12 months, and he proved his credentials again with a typical fusion of industry and grace. His 360-degree turn carved out just enough space in the middle to allow him to feed Myles Lewis-Skelly who duly entered the history books as the youngest player to score on his senior England debut at 18 years and 209 days.
“He was amazing — in camp [he is] full of confidence and very, very full of humour and such an open and mature character,” Tuchel said of Lewis-Skelly afterward. “You see everything, what you see on the pitch, you see off the pitch. So he was straight away a part of the group, very impressive. He does it with a natural confidence and this is how he plays football. It’s a great performance.”
As the rest of the half developed, England’s high press became increasingly noticeable, as did the long passes over the Albania back line that searched for willing runners.
Tuchel spoke damningly of some of Southgate’s work with the national side in news conferences and interviews earlier this week and outlined his vision of a physically robust team that reflects the cut and thrust of the Premier League. It is why the 6-foot-7 Dan Burn lined up for his debut here and Marcus Rashford‘s searing pace saw him rewarded with a first cap for almost exactly a calendar year.
Squint a little and you could see Tuchel’s vision: Bellingham and Declan Rice forming a two-man hit squad in midfield, Walker and Lewis-Skelly running wingers ragged and Burn looming at the back post from set pieces. Can this high intensity, direct style work in the heat of North American summer off the back of a gruelling club season? That is a question for another day.
It must be said that England did not have things all their way here against Albania. Passionate is not a strong enough word for the support the away side received from a fanbase bolstered in number by London’s sizeable Albanian community. More than once it seemed the visitors might spoil the party before either Kyle Walker or Ezri Konsa made a last-ditch intervention.
It is fair to say that England’s struggles in putting away their underdog opponents under any of their former managers would have drawn groans of consternation from the crowd, but here they remained almost as resolutely loyal to the Tuchel as his players did.
It took another moment of inspiration, this time an expert finish from Kane, to put the result beyond doubt. Their appetite sated, even Jordan Henderson‘s late appearance after fans had decried his inclusion in the squad prompted no boos from the crowd.
“In general, this is a difficult opponent,” Tuchel said. “They play unorthodox style, they have speed upfront, they have physicality upfront.
“I think we saw them in the form of the euros where Spain struggled, Croatia struggled. Italy struggled in the group phase and I think we saw this kind of opponent today and we managed to get our first win, first clean sheet and hopefully gives us some confidence to get quickly better and to trust in our style and go from there.”
In truth, Tuchel’s first foray into international waters can hardly have been more forgiving. England have now won all seven of their meetings with Albania, conceding just one goal in the process. The World Cup qualifying campaign is a formality — England are now unbeaten across their last 32 qualifiers for FIFA’s top competition.
Nights like this one are just the first taste. It will be in the last 30 minutes of a tournament knockout game, when the muscles begin to seize and the doubts start to creep in, when we will discover if England’s gamble on Tuchel pays off.
