England vs Albania LIVE: Thomas Tuchel takes charge of first game and prepares to name team | OneFootball

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Thomas Tuchel urges England to have hunger to win rather than fear to lose

England take on Albania at Wembley in Thomas Tuchel’s first game in charge. The German coach has been appointed on an 18-month contract through to the 2026 World Cup and England begin that journey as their qualifying campaign gets underway.

Tuchel has wasted no time explaining where England fell short under Gareth Southgate, saying that he felt the team were “afraid” during last summer’s Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain. "I want us to play with excitement and the hunger and desire to win,” Tuchel said. “And the acceptance of failure is part of it, especially in football."

Tuchel arrives with an impressive CV, that includes winning the Champions League with Chelsea, and made a number of eye-catching calls when naming his first squad, including a recall for former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson.

Now all eyes are on Tuchel’s first England line-up as the Three Lions look to hit the ground running in their World Cup qualifying group that includes Serbia, Latvia, Andorra and tonight’s opponents Albania.

Follow live updates from Wembley ahead of Tuchel’s first game in charge, below:

Dan Burn felt 'overlooked' ahead of England call-up

One of the biggest stories for this England camp is the fate of Newcastle’s Dan Burn.

The 32-year-old central defender helped end the Magpies 70-year wait for a domestic trophy when they defeated Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final last Sunday.

On Monday morning he joined up with England for the first time and is on the verge of making his international debut.

"Yeah, I think I have been overlooked, but I understood it," he revealed after joining up with the group. "What Gareth (Southgate) did to bring England from where it was to competing in finals showed that his method was very good.

"When the new manager came in there was a clean slate, but once you've been passed over during so many international breaks, you sort of accept the time has passed, but luckily the new manager has taken a chance on me.

"It's probably made me very resilient. I don't think I've had a straight-line trajectory in my career, I started really late and it's been very up and down.

"I feel I've been doubted a lot over my career. I doubt many people who watched me play at Darlington would say that I'd be sat here doing a press conference for England."

(Getty Images)

Mike Jones21 March 2025 14:02

Pickford on Henderson's return

“I’ve known him since the Sunderland days and his desire to want to win and what he has won and achieved is driven by himself,” Jordan Pickford said when asked about Jordan Henderson’s return to the England set-up.

“He’s a winner and he’s a big leader. I think bringing Hendo back in is great for the squad. He was vice-captain for a number of years, didn’t come to the last Euros.

“For me having leaders in your group, if you look at the last four majors (tournaments) the teams that have won have all had that experience in their side whether they have played or haven’t played.

“I think it’s a great move for us because of what he has done and how he is still driven. Whether he plays or not he will drive the sessions with the lads and he’s a great guy as well.”