England XI vs Albania: Predicted lineup, confirmed team news and injury latest | OneFootball

Jude Bellingham pushing to start as Thomas Tuchel prepares to make changes in final World Cup qualifier

Thomas Tuchel will hand some players a chance to stake their claim for a World Cup spot when England face Albania on Sunday.

In what will be their last match of 2025, England will face the side guaranteed to finish second behind them in Group K. Albania’s win over Andorra on Thursday confirmed they will finish above Serbia, who England beat 2-0 on the same night.

Jude Bellingham is set to start at No10

The FA via Getty Images

Ezri Konsa played the full 90 minutes against Serbia but has not travelled to Tirana due to calf tightness.

Marc Guehi also dropped out of the squad after failing to recover from a bruised foot.

Bukayo Saka appeared to be moving gingerly for part of the Serbia game, but allayed fears of any injury when he spoke to ITV after the match and trained on Saturday.

Harry Kane spoke to the media on Saturday, indicating he is set to start again.

Tuchel could use the game for more experimentation, given it is another dead rubber for already-qualified England. Bellingham came off the bench as Morgan Rogers started against Serbia, but the manager may feel it is time to start Bellingham in Albania.

The likes of Dan Burn and Jarrod Bowen did not feature at Wembley on Thursday, so they may now come into Tuchel’s thinking along with Dean Henderson, should the head coach wish to test another goalkeeper besides clear first choice Jordan Pickford.

Nick Pope and Anthony Gordon dropped out of the squad on Tuesday through injury.

England predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Pickford; James, Burn, Stones, Spence; Wharton, Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Rashford; Kane

Injured: Konsa, Guehi, Gordon, Pope

Date and time: 5pm GMT on Sunday, November 16, 2025

TV Channel: ITV