England vs Albania prediction: EUROPE: World Championship – Qualification betting tips on match 2025-03-20 19:45.
[p]After making it all the way to the Euro 2024 final, only to eventually be beaten 2-1 by Spain, England will begin their latest World Cup qualification cycle with one eye already on the showpiece tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada in 2026. Not since 1966 have the Three Lions won a major international tournament and this time around, there’s a new man in charge hoping to help end that wait.[/p]
[p]Despite leading his nation to two major finals during his reign, former boss Gareth Southgate has been replaced by Thomas Tuchel following England’s latest heartbreak. A prior stint in the country with Chelsea saw the German manager deliver the UEFA Champions League for the club, but in his first-ever international managerial role, his first job is to ensure England avoid the ignominy of missing a World Cup for the first time since 1994, which was ominously held in the USA![/p]
[p]On his debut, Tuchel and his new squad will face Albania, a footballing nation on the rise and one who also featured in the latest European Championship finals. Despite falling at the group stage hurdle on that occasion, that competition in Germany acted as just the second major tournament that the country have played a part in and with neither coming at the World Cup, they’ll arrive at Wembley hoping to cause an upset en route to qualifying for the competition for the first time ever.[/p]
[p]Sat 61 places lower than England in FIFA’s current rankings, Albania are likely to find the going tough this Friday, especially as they’ve won just one of their last five internationals (D1, L3). To make matters worse, the visitors have also lost all six of their prior H2Hs, netting just one goal in the process.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Jude Bellingham has been involved in ten goals in his last 15 England appearances (G5, A5), grabbing a brace of assists in his last outing at Wembley against Ireland. Albania will hope that Rey Manaj can get on the scoresheet here, as his seven international goalscoring appearances have yielded positive results (W6, D1) – he’s scored more goals for Albania than anyone else in the latest squad. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Albania have never won a competitive match against a nation ranked inside FIFA’s top ten (D2, L17).[/p]
[p][i]Written by Nathan Evans[/i][/p]