England’s Tuchel shatters records ahead of 2026 FIFA World Cup final qualifier

Thomas Tuchel said records are not on his mind as he prepares England for their final 2026 World Cup qualifier against Albania on Sunday to cap a remarkable campaign.

The German started his reign with a 2-0 win against Albania at Wembley in March and ends his first year in charge against the same opponents in Tirana.

England, who last month qualified for next year’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States, have won all seven Group K matches so far without conceding a single goal – an impressive record that opposition manager Sylvinho joked was «disgusting».

On Sunday it could become the first European team to play at least six World Cup qualifiers and win them all without setbacks, but that is not on Tuchel’s radar.

“We haven’t said a single word about that,” he told reporters on Saturday. «We made sure yesterday that we got the training we had. The quality and mentality of the boys who didn’t play were of the highest level, which was pure enjoyment.

«It showed me that we are on the right track. Everyone is ready to play, everyone is ready to start. The competition is still going, the hunger is still going.»

England arrived in Albania with a 23-man squad after Ezri Konsa withdrew from camp with a calf complaint.

It means there will be at least one change from Thursday’s 2-0 win against Serbia, when Jude Bellingham, Eberechi Eze and Phil Foden impressed from the bench.

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Captain Harry Kane is confident all players are on the same page as Tuchel tries to create a real sense of ‘brotherhood’.

Kane believes it is an ethos that everyone can get behind, despite the manager’s willingness to leave out big players.

“I think everyone feels ready to be part of it, they want to come and show what they can do in training and games,” he said. “They want to clearly show the boss that they deserve to be picked for next summer.”

The skipper added: “We probably have a handful of training sessions from now until then, so even players like Marc (Guehi) are coming to this camp, even though he was injured, to be around it a bit.

“I think it’s very important because we don’t have a lot of time from now until the summer to get all the messages across. From that point of view, I think it’s fantastic.”

Published on November 16, 2025