England v Albania - European Qualifiers Group K - FIFA World Cup 2026Getty Images Sport

'We can do better' - Thomas Tuchel offers honest assessment of England debut as German boss hails goalscorer Myles Lewis-Skelly before firing warning to Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden

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  • England win 2-0 in first match under Tuchel
  • Lewis-Skelly and Kane secure victory at Wembley
  • Tuchel expects better from Three Lions stars
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  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    England got their World Cup qualifying campaign off to a strong start, with debutant Myles Lewis-Skelly opening the scoring with a record-breaking goal after 20 minutes before Harry Kane doubled their lead in the second half.

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  • England v Albania - European Qualifiers Group K - FIFA World Cup 2026Getty Images Sport

    THE BIGGER PICTURE

    England were dominant in their maiden performance under Tuchel - registering 12 shots to Albania's three over the 90 minutes - but the German coach says he expects better from his Three Lions players.

    "We can do better, we have to do better. We started well, we had seven-eight minutes with 100% ball possession with a lot of passes and high energy," he said to ITV. "The opponent is hard to break down as they defend in a deep block. In the Euros they managed to not concede chances. Second half, I felt we were too slow and in general not enough runs off the ball to get behind the line."

  • TUCHEL ON LEWIS-SKELLY, RASHFORD & FODEN

    Lewis-Skelly made a lot of headlines with his dream debut and Tuchel was full of praise for the 18-year-old Arsenal star, while he issued words of warning for the likes of Marcus Rashford, making his first England appearance in a year, and Phil Foden.

    "Amazing player. Amazing personality. He came into camp and showed straight away that it's normal to fall in love with him. It is well deserved," he said of Lewis-Skelly, before turning to the Aston Villa loanee and City star, adding: "We hope for more impact in these positions. More dribbling and more aggressive runs towards the box. In general that was missing. The chances come from the little runs behind the line. There was a bit missing they were not as decisive as they can be."

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    WHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND?

    The Three Lions continue their World Cup qualifying campaign with a home match against Latvia on Monday.