In his first game for England, Myles Lewis-Skelly was the star of the show. His goal was instrumental in getting the team off to a winning start under the direction of new manager Thomas Tuchel.
At Wembley Stadium on Friday night, the Three Lions defeated Albania by a score of 2-0 to get their World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign off to a perfect start.
After being brilliantly picked out by Jude Bellingham, the young starlet from Arsenal, Lewis-Skelly, who was making his debut for England, scored the goal that put England ahead in the twenty minute mark.
As a result of this, the 18-year-old player has established a new record for being the youngest England star to score a goal on their first senior appearance for the national team.
Then, in the 77th minute, England captain Harry Kane scored his customary goal by deftly controlling a cross from Declan Rice and then bending the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal.
The centre forward for Bayern Munich scored his 70th goal for the Three Lions, and it is his 36th strike of the season across all competitions for both his club and his country [Bayern has scored 32 goals, and England has scored four goals].
Even though England’s performance against the 65th-ranked nation in FIFA may not have been particularly impressive, Tuchel will be left feeling encouraged by what he has seen in advance of England’s home match against Latvia, which will be broadcast live on talkSPORT on Monday.
Who, however, stood out for England in Tuchel’s first match as manager? The individuals that were featured on talkSPORT have been rated and criticised by Adrian Durham.
“England’s most talented player”
It wasn’t until September that Lewis-Skelly made his debut for Arsenal, but he’s already established himself as one of England’s top choices for left back.
Fearless both in and out of possession, Durham gave the young player a rating of nine out of ten, which was the highest rating given to any England player.
His words were as follows: “He was a threat, easily England’s best player, and he scored a fantastic goal on his debut. He was also clever on the ball, strong in possession, and strong on the ball as well.”
“Myles Lewis-Skelly on debut get a nine out of ten – and people think I hate Arsenal… but he might have to leave soon to win something!”
Take in the Thrill
As was the case with Lewis-Skelly, Newcastle centre-back Dan Burn was given his first appearance, making him the oldest debutante for England since Kevin Davies in October of 2010.
And when he scored against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final, the 32-year-old player came close to repeating his heroic performance at Wembley Stadium from the previous weekend.
On the other hand, he was unable to capitalise on what would have been a momentous occasion for the well-liked defender by causing his header in the first half to hit the crossbar.
On the other hand, Durham is of the opinion that Tuchel would not be persuaded by his performance to believe that he is worthy of a starting position on a consistent basis.
A rating of four out of ten was given by Durham, who stated, “Armando Broja was able to beat me in the air and I was beaten for pace a few times.”
“It’s a great story, you’ve got to love it, but I think he found it a bit tough at England level.”
To give some thought to
Phil Foden, a star player for Manchester City, may have believed that Albania would be the ideal opponent for him to play against in order to get himself back into the scoring zone.
Since January 25, the 24-year-old player has not scored for the Citizens, and he has had a difficult time maintaining consistency for the team this season.
Despite this, Tuchel started the versatile playmaker, but Foden ultimately appeared to be a passenger for the majority of the match.
Because of his performance, Durham only gave him a rating of four out of ten.
Foden’s verdict consisted of seven words, and it was as follows: “Failed to impose himself in any way.”
Before adding the following: “He’s got so much more in his locker, it’s a very generous 4/10.”
Having room for advancement
Prior to the match against Albania, Tuchel emphasised that he desired to see an England team that was free-flowing and excited the fans when they played.
England appeared to be in the driver’s seat throughout the entirety of the Euro 2024 competition, despite the fact that Gareth Southgate had previously stated that the Three Lions appeared to be “afraid.”
However, Durham was anticipating more from England, and Tuchel was given a rating of four out of ten after the match.
According to what he had to say about the German, “In the program, he said, ‘We want to excite our fans,’ but that didn’t happen either.”
In the beginning, I am aware that we were victorious, but it wasn’t a very good victory.
