England vs Albania LIVE: World Cup qualifier result, final score and reaction tonight
Follow all the post-match reaction as England put themselves on the cusp of qualification for the 2022 World Cup with a 5-0 win
England moved to within one point of qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar by dismantling Albania 5-0 at Wembley on Friday night.
Within 10 minutes of kick-off, Gareth Southgate’s side had broken the deadlock as Harry Maguire headed home a Reece James free-kick with ease – his celebration drawing the ire of Roy Keane in the ITV studio. Just shy of 10 minutes later, Harry Kane doubled the Three Lions’ lead by netting his own header, courtesy of a chipped assist from Jordan Henderson, who soon made it 3-0 with a tidy close-range finish. Kane would round out a perfect hat-trick before the half-time whistle sounded, first blasting a powerful strike across goal from a tight angle, then scoring a deflected bicycle kick from a corner on the cusp of the break.
England could not find the net again once the action resumed at Wembley, but Southgate took the opportunity to get Jack Grealish, Tammy Abraham, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jude Bellingham on the pitch from the bench, as well as debuting Arsenal youngster Emile Smith Rowe. The win kept Southgate’s team atop Group I of the European qualifying pools, their 23 points one fewer than what is required to ensure England a place at next winter’s world championship in Qatar.
Follow all the fallout and analysis from Wembley:
England 5 - 0 Albania
83 mins: Pickford throws the ball out to Walker driving up the right wing. His pass comes up to Abraham who makes a nice spin off the shoulder before laying the ball off to Smith Rowe darting inside. He passes it out to Grealish who dribbles into the box, shifts onto his left foot and wins a corner as he effort is deflected behind.
England 5 - 0 Albania
80 mins: Smith Rowe has taken up position on the right side and is given the ball. He drives inside and shrugs off a challenge as he takes the ball towards the box. Abraham is in front of him but Smith Rowe is tackled from the side. He goes down wanting a free kick but the referee lets play go on.
England 5 - 0 Albania
78 mins: A couple more substitutions for England. Trent Alexander-Arnold gets a run out as he replaces Reece James and Raheem Sterling is taken off to reward Emile Smith Rowe with his England debut. A big grin is plastered over the 21-year-old’s face as he comes jogs onto the pitch.
England 5 - 0 Albania
75 mins: Grealish denied by Strakosha! James drives down the right side again as England fly forward on a counter-attack. He lays the ball off to Henderson who flicks it into the box for Tammy Abraham but the ball drops over his head. It bounces nicely for Grealish arriving from the left though and his shot from a narrow angle is kept out by the Albania goalkeeper closing down the gap at the near post.
England 5 - 0 Albania
72 mins: James jogs back onto the pitch and gets stuck into the action straight away. He collects the ball on the right wing and slides a pass into the box for Bellingham. Bellingham backheels it to the wingback who runs onto the loose ball and fires a shot wide of the far post!
England 5 - 0 Albania
69 mins: Both John Stones and Reece James are seemingly okay. James is taken off to the side of the pitch for a concussion test but he’s got to his feet and waved away the stretcher. Stones is fine and plays on.
England 5 - 0 Albania
66 mins: Ouch. Laci brings the ball into the England penalty area and gives it to Cikalleshi. He drives over to the right side of the box before chipping a pass back towards Laci. He attempts an overhead kick just as James and Stones both attempt to head the ball clear. Laci’s high foot kicks James in the face before the two England players clash heads.
It’s a bad knock and James needs medical attention.
England 5 - 0 Albania
63 mins: Yep. Abraham comes on to replace Harry Kane, Bellingham has slotted in next to Jordan Henderson taking Kalvin Phillips’ place and Grealish has swapped in for Phil Foden.
England 5 - 0 Albania
60 mins: In the other important Group I match this evening Poland are beating Andorra 3-1 so if things remain as they are England won’t technically qualify this evening. They’ll still need another point but as San Marino are up next that should just be a formality.
Jack Grealish, Jude Bellingham and Tammy Abraham are getting ready to come on for England.
England 5 - 0 Albania
57 mins: Another lovely cross field ball comes up to James who brings the ball down in the box and passes it inside to Kane. Kane’s got his back to goal and can’t find space to turn. James runs inside to try to take over possession and the two England players collide allowing Albania to clear their lines.
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