STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW Sun: Albania v England

England have already sealed their place at next year’s World Cup but they didn’t rest on their laurels when beating Serbia at Wembley in midweek, and they can complete a perfect qualifying campaign with victory in Albania, writes WILLIAM KEDJANYI.

Thomas Tuchel told the media that he’s not told his squad about using the record as motivation but he’ll have been pleased with a professional performance against Serbia when they had their visitors at arm’s length, and with only one international break before the World Cup begins next year motivation will be sky high for players to make their case.

In midweek, Elliot Anderson and Morgan Rogers continued to press home their claims for a starting spot next year, whilst Marcus Rashford offered some spark against a stubborn Serbian defence and Nico O’Reilly had an assured first cap, a good sign for his aspirations, given that the left-back spot is nowhere near settled for next year.

Tuchel has plenty of good headaches and the performances of Phil Foden, back to some of his best form in the Premier League for Manchester City, and Eberechi Eze showcase the depth available to him for all that a fit Harry Kane is vital for their chances.

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Albania v England
2026 UEFA World Cup Qualifier – Group K
17:00, Sunday 16 November
Air Albania Stadium, Tirana
Live on ITV1 / ITV X / STV

LAST FIVE STATS

HEAD-TO-HEAD
MAR 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING England 2-0 Albania
NOV 2021 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING England 5-0 Albania
MAR 2021 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Albania 0-2 England
SEP 2001 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING England 2-0 Albania
MAR 2001 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Albania 1-3 England

ALBANIA
NOV 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Andorra 0-1 Albania
OCT 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Serbia 0-1 Albania
SEP 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Albania 1-0 Latvia
JUN 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Latvia 1-1 Albania
JUN 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Albania 0-0 Serbia

ENGLAND
OCT 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Latvia 0-5 England
OCT 2025 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY England 3-0 Wales
SEP 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Serbia 0-5 England
SEP 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING England 2-0 Andorra
JUN 2025 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY England 1-3 Senegal

Albania have already qualified for the play-offs, after a 1-0 win in Andora that took them to 14 points in the group, four ahead of Serbia with a game to play. Managed by former Arsenal defender Sylvinho, they’ve gone through the campaign unbeaten at home – indeed their one defeat in the group was at Wembley when they went down 2-0 in Tuchel’s debut game.

A six-game winning run has lifted them to 61st in the FIFA World Rankings, and with what’s sure to be a delighted home crowd and no injury concerns, tonight’s hosts deserve plenty of respect. Finding value in the game could be tricky – England ought to be good enough and aren’t going to lack for motivation, but Serbia made life difficult at times with a low block for them in midweek and it’s not hard to imagine Albania doing the same this evening. England are an improved side since March with Tuchel having a better handle on his players but one constant has been defensive solidity, with England winning their last nine competitive games to nil. The 2-0 and 3-0 correct scores with starsports.bet. could give backers a good run for their money.

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PROFIT/LOSS (NOV 2025): -5.15 points

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