'Southgate was more entertaining' - England players given honest assessment after picking up routine win against Albania in first game under Thomas Tuchel

Tuchel had vowed to bring the excitement back to Wembley after delivering a brutal verdict on England's playing style in the Southgate era, especially in last summer's European Championship. However, the German manager got a harsh reality check on Friday evening as his side struggled to break down a determined Albanian side and was subsequently forced to admit that "we have to do better".

England got their noses in front in the 20th-minute courtesy of a composed finish from Arsenal starlet Myles Lewis-Skelly. However, the Three Lions struggled for fluency and had to wait until the 70th-minute to get an insurance goal with skipper Harry Kane finding the net from close range. A routine win, but far from the bells and whistles that Tuchel expected to provide a sell-out Wembley crowd on his international managerial debut.

The English fans took aim at Tuchel after the match as @MarkWalkerFord wrote: "Uninspiring start… Southgate was more entertaining 😬".

@MissLSW was a bit kinder as she wrote: "Not great but not bad."

@mvlaren echoed the sentiment: "it was not amazing but it was a solid performance vs an easy team."

Whereas, @_archiegrant6 put forward a fresh challenge and wrote: "Meh it’s alright, dominated the ball and played well but if we don’t put at least five past Latvia I’ll be disappointed."

@RealTomHoskins seconded and quipped: "I expected much better from a Thomas Tuchel team. The performance was so passive and lacking creativity. Tuchel has a lot of work to do if this lot are to compete at next years World Cup."

After a sombre start to the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, England will be looking to turn up the heat against Latvia on Monday at Wembley.