Thomas Tuchel's (52) personality doesn't change.

The England national team, led by Coach Thomas Tuchel, defeated Albania 2-0 in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the 2024-2025 UEFA Nations League at Wembley Stadium in London, England, at 4:45 a.m. on the 22nd.

With this victory, England achieved its first win under Coach Tuchel and gained a favorable position for advancing to the semifinals of the Nations League. At the same time, they added three valuable points in Group K of the 2026 World Cup European qualifying.

In this match, England utilized a 4-2-3-1 formation. Harry Kane was positioned at the forefront, with Marcus Rashford, Jude Bellingham, and Phil Foden in the attacking midfield. Curtis Jones and Declan Rice were in central midfield, while the defense consisted of Lewis Skelly, Dan Burn, Ezri Konsa, and Kyle Walker. Jordan Pickford guarded the goal.

From the early stages of the match, England took control. In the 20th minute of the first half, Lewis Skelly calmly scored the opening goal after receiving an exquisite through pass from Bellingham.

Subsequently, England created several threatening opportunities in the first half to build momentum. The Albanian national team, centered around Asani, attempted several counterattacks, but they could not create decisive chances.

The flow continued to favor England in the second half. In the 33rd minute, Kane finished off a cross from Rice to widen the score gap, and although Albania attempted to make changes through substitutions, they ultimately failed to recover. Near the end of the second half, Albanian goalkeeper Strakosha also had to be substituted due to injury.

The match concluded with England's 2-0 victory.

Although they won, it seems Coach Tuchel was not entirely satisfied. After the match, he expressed discontent regarding Phil Foden.

According to 'The Telegraph', Coach Tuchel said, "We could have done better and should have done better."

He evaluated, "We started well. In the first 7-8 minutes, we recorded close to 100% ball possession, attempted many passes, and showed high energy. However, in the second half, the tempo slowed down too much, and overall, there was a lack of movement to receive the ball, making it difficult to advance."

Rashford returned to the left flank of the England national team after about a year, and Foden started on the right, but Coach Tuchel revealed that he expected more from both players.

During the match, both players were substituted for Anthony Gordon and Jarrod Bowen, respectively. Towards the end of the match, Gordon suffered a hip injury, and to this, Tuchel acknowledged, "It did not look good."

He explained about Rashford and Foden, "I expected them to have a greater impact in this position. More dribbling and penetrating into the box were needed, but overall that aspect was lacking. There was also a lack of decisive movement, and I was disappointed by the small and sharp movements behind the line."

He continued, "I judged that the two wingers did not demonstrate the influence they usually show at their clubs. I still can’t understand why the ball wasn't passed to them more quickly or why it couldn't be given into wider spaces. It took too long to pass the ball."

Additionally, he stated, "I felt we lacked movement to receive the ball. There were many passes, but there were few dribbles or advances, and overall there was a lack of attacking aggression toward the goal. They had shown very good performances in training, so they deserved to start. They performed well at their clubs over the past few weeks, and we plan to continue encouraging them and provide a structure that can bring out their potential."

In particular, regarding Roy Keane's public criticism of Foden during 'ITV's commentary, Tuchel said, "We will help Foden do what he does best. We plan to encourage him to break past defenders and attempt dribbles. Today, we used him on the right wing."

He also mentioned, "He doesn't need to worry about where he wants to play, because he is not a player who can strictly play in one position."

Meanwhile, Lewis Skelly expressed gratitude, saying, "I was really thankful that the coach believed in me, and I was very happy. Thanks to the fans, I felt as comfortable as if I were playing at home."

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