England seek history as they bid to end 2025 on high in Albania | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel’s side target new record as they round off World Cup qualification campaign

Thomas Tuchel’s first - and, if he really is in and out in 18 months, only - year in charge of England ends just as it began against Albania.

His team are in Tirana for their final World Cup qualifier and final match of 2025, with designs on another victory against the side who have surprisingly pipped Serbia to second place in Group K to secure a play-off spot. In March, with Tuchel in the Wembley dugout for the very first time, England saw off the Albanians with a 2-0 win.

The return leg against the nation ranked 61st in the world is not a match Tuchel and his players can take lightly, given Albania are on a five-game winning streak.

Get the job done to make it a flawless eight wins from eight in qualifying and England would break their record for consecutive competitive wins by claiming their 11th in a row.

Just as impressive as their propensity to win under Tuchel has been their mastery of defensive shutouts. Indeed, should they keep another clean sheet in Albania, England will become the first European nation ever to complete a qualification group of more than six games not to have conceded a single goal in the process.

Tuchel was hired by the FA with the express goal of winning the World Cup. His England were the first Europeans to qualify.

“We need to take the next step tomorrow in our own development,” Tuchel said at his press conference on Saturday, the German talking with the purpose and laser-like focus of a man simply not prepared to accept any drop-off in intensity from his players on Sunday.

Reflecting on his year in the hot seat, Tuchel smiled: “I’ve learned a lot about the job. It’s very different from club football. My assistant coaches have kept me on my toes.”

He, in turn, has kept his players on theirs. A healthy squad harmony has been found, as well as an obsession with winning back the ball whenever it is lost. These are key tenets of any Tuchel side. They are also crucial to England’s hopes of winning the World Cup next summer.

A dead-rubber tie on the Balkan peninsula brings England back round to where it first started under Tuchel. But his learnings along the way make facing his team an even more challenging prospect for opponents now.