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# Demanding Tuchel makes his feelings clear after winning first game in charge of England

By James Robson  
March 21st, 2025 08:18 PM

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Thomas Tuchel kicked off his England reign with a 2-0 win against Albania at Wembley Stadium on Friday and immediately demanded more from his players.

Myles Lewis-Skelly and Harry Kane ensured a winning start for Tuchel in the World Cup qualifier but the German coach sounded far from satisfied with his first game in charge.

"(We) can do better. We have to do better," Tuchel said.

He added the team was too slow in the second half and lacked aggression in attack.

Tuchel became the 11th straight England manager to win on his debut. But his frank assessment of the performance was evidence of the standards he wants to set after being charged with ending the team's decades-long wait for a major trophy.

His first job is to secure qualification for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico and this was a straight forward win for No. 4-ranked England in its first qualifier.

England dominated possession and chances against 65th-ranked Albania.

It took 20 minutes for the first goal of the Tuchel era and it was delivered by debutant Lewis-Skelly, who became the youngest player to score on his first England appearance at 18 years, 176 days. He was younger by 33 days than Marcus Rashford was against Australia in May 2016.

Kane added a record-extending 70th England goal in the 77th.

Tuchel is the third foreign coach to take charge of England after the late Sven-Goran Eriksson, a Swede, and Fabio Capello, an Italian.

His appointment last October was greeted with outrage in some sections of the English media, likely due to England's longstanding rivalry with Germany. He said last week he would not sing the national anthem, explaining he had to "earn" the right to join in with "God Save the King." He stayed silent while the anthem was played before the game.

He was warmly greeted by fans, with one banner inside the stadium reading: "Welcome to the home of football, Thomas."

Ultimately, he will be judged on results and whether he can end England's search for a first trophy since the World Cup in 1966. Tuchel has told the players it is his job to add a second star above the national badge, which represents the number of World Cups won.

He has big shoes to fill in replacing former manager Gareth Southgate, who led England to back to back finals in the European Championship and the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup.

Tuchel is a far more decorated coach than Southgate, having been a serial winner with Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, with league titles and the Champions League on his resume.

Only so much can be drawn from his first game but Lewis-Skelly was a clear positive in his goal-scoring debut. The left back fired through the legs of Albania goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha after Jude Bellingham's incisive pass.

Another debutant Dan Burn hit the bar with a header in the first half.

England lacked penetration after the break, but Kane swivelled and fired low into the corner.

"I had clear ideas on what we wanted to do, how we wanted to play and tried to stick to them as much as possible," Bellingham said. "We had a really good week of training and a good win to start the new era."

England tops Group K on goal difference and plays second-placed Latvia, which beat Andorra 1-0, at Wembley on Monday.

## Other games

Poland and Finland made winning starts in Group G.

Robert Lewandowski's goal in the 81st sealed a 1-0 win for Poland at home to Lithuania, while Finland also won 1-0 against 10-man Malta.

Bosnia-Herzegovina beat Romania 1-0 in Group H, which was topped by Cyprus after a 2-0 win against San Marino.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer