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Harry Kane scored one and prepared another on his return to the starting XI, when England beat Albania 2-0 in Tirana to maintain their position as Group I leader in World Cup qualification.
The England captain had been forced to watch from the bench as his teammates thrashed San Marino at Wembley on Thursday, but he made his presence felt in this tougher competition, directing a good header home just before half-time before halftime. place Mason Mount to add a second.
Gareth Southgate’s team were not at their best against well-organized opponents, but they managed a well-deserved victory ahead of their clash with Poland at Wembley on Wednesday, which should be another step in the difficulty.
In the rest of the group, Poland faces Andorra and San Marino hosts Hungary later on Sunday.
How England found a way in Albania …
After producing an effervescent first half against the world’s lowest ranked team, San Marino, England were frustratingly disjointed in the early stages on heavy ground in Albania.
John Stones sent a header over the bar in the 10th minute, but a sloppy pass from Mount caused Myrto Uzuni to shoot wide at the other end. When Kane slammed a free kick into teammate Harry Maguire in the 22nd minute, it pretty much summed up the start of England’s game.
It took Southgate’s team 33 minutes to register a shot on goal with a long-range effort from Kyle Walker, but it finally clicked for the visitors in the 38th minute, when Mount cushioned the ball for Luke Shaw to connect a cross into the box, that Kane masterfully headed home.
The England captain, who had not found the net for his country in six games, should have made it 2-0 moments later when he slammed a half volley from a Raheem Sterling cross into the bottom of the bar from six yards.
A combination of Albania goalkeeper Etrit Berisha and the woodworking then denied Phil Foden shortly after the break.
However, England could not be denied a second, and with Kane becoming a supplier, Mount raised a clever shot at Berisha in the 63rd minute to put the visitors in control.
James Ward-Prowse replaced Kalvin Phillips with 20 minutes to go and was immediately into the action, and it was a bizarre moment that left Kane stumped.
Ward-Prowse folded a cross to the back post where, after a control error, Sterling rolled the ball into the six-yard box. Kane lunged at the ball between two Albanian defenders and deflected the ball wide but, with his opponents clutching his legs, the forward received what appeared to be an extremely harsh yellow card.
England were unable to make another goal effort until injury time, when Kane’s shot was deflected back for a corner, and there was a late scare from Nick Pope, whose kicks had been hit and miss throughout, when he shot straight. to an Albanian striker. before an offside flag avoided her blush.
But Southgate will see victory as a “job done” for his team, which will move on to Poland’s toughest task next week.
What the managers said …
Chief of Albania, Edoardo Reja: “Our plan didn’t work out so well. In the first half, England were not so good, they just took one shot on goal. We were well organized in defense and tried to do some counterattacks, but it wasn’t possible because it was like hitting a mountain of muscles. The English team is very strong and very fast. If we had scored, it would have been a different game then. “
Chief of England, Gareth southgate: “What I liked was that we adapted well to a field where it was difficult to move the ball. We controlled the game and, after about 25 minutes, we changed the shape of the midfield a bit and we looked much more dangerous. They had a formation different from what they played in the last 25 games, so we settled into that and were comfortable for most of the second half.
“We have chances at the end of the game and we should have killed the game and I didn’t like the way we handled that game in the last 15 minutes. We charged forward when we didn’t need to, we almost conceded from shooting at the end. I’m satisfied with the win. But there are areas where we can certainly improve. “
Opta Statistics
England host Poland on Wednesday at 7.45pm in their next World Cup Qualifier.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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