England beat Albania in World Cup qualifier.
Last night was all about polite introductions and initiation ceremonies. By the end of it all, we were all on first name terms, civil handshakes had been exchanged and agreeable smiles were much in evidence. Everybody had got on with each other, there were no personal disagreements and the milk of human kindness was overflowing. There was no need for any bad blood, rancour and petty differences of opinion.
Under new coach and manager Thomas Tuchel, England had beaten Albania in their opening World Cup qualifier for next year's global football jamboree in the USA, Mexico and Canada. Straightforward really, no sweat, no problem at all. But there was a bizarre and mysterious air about last night's game that was perhaps indefinable. We've always known about the underwhelming nature of these World Cup preliminaries since the opposition are marginally more demanding and taxing as a Hackney Marshes 11 on a Sunday morning.
The fact is that both Albania and Latvia on Monday at Wembley are never likely to shake the foundations of world football at any point in the history of the game. By the hour of yesterday's evening nondescript, meaningless, wretchedly insulting, dull and dreary spectacle at Wembley, most of England's devoted fans were beginning to think about an early exit home for late night tea drinking stimulation. This most blinding of football smokescreens couldn't disguise the sheer futility of the exercise.
International football has undergone a dramatic evolution in recent years with the arrival of now frequent international breaks during the Premier League season and nothing but probing questions. World Cup and Euro qualifiers used to be valued and a major source of fascination. England used to be presented with tricky obstacles in their way en route to any of both competitions. There was Poland in 1973 when Sir Alf Ramsey anti climactically lost his job for England on their way to West Germany for the 1974 World Cup against the Poles and then Italy four years later when Don Revie's England fell by the wayside against Italy.
When Gareth Southgate recently departed his post as England manager last year, the yawning chasm and gaping gap needed to be filled as quickly as possible. Lee Carsley briefly took over the shop as a means of blooding the next generation of England players and integrating fresh new faces. But the pain and anguish of losing last year's European Championship Final to an embarrassingly superior and technically outstanding Spain side exposed all of the usual limitations and left England gasping for oxygen once again.
So here we went again for England last night, a match that bore no relation to anything that might resemble a proper contest in next year's World Cup Finals. We were again lulled into a soft focus blurred image of footballing excellence. The truth is that this was a caricature of an international match, some pale imitation of football that struggled for any kind of fluidity. England got the result they were looking for but this was rather like being trapped in a dark room desperate for a chink of light.
And yet Thomas Tuchel will have seen the first faint pencilled outlines of England's future under his honourable and well intentioned management. Tuchel is an exciting and innovative coach who began to build solid bricks and mortar at Chelsea but then experienced subsidence when things went wrong. He remains an unknown quantity at international level but judgments have yet to be formed and we shall see.
But what on earth was last night's fiasco all about for England? What we had was a genuine demonstration of slow motion, boring, painfully anodyne and insignificant football that belonged exclusively on the training ground and leisurely five-a- sides before sinking into anonymity. From the kick off, England indulged in stuttering, self indulgent and staccato passing that barely troubled the half way line at times. There were bewildering, keep ball patterns that became increasingly repetitive and to the outsider, simply annoying and intolerable.
Of course there is a school of thought that the passing game should always be regarded as a thing of beauty and splendour, a marvel of sweet intricacy and purposeful product at the end of it all. Football was designed to be constructed patiently from the back of the defence, shuffled pleasingly through the midfield and then finished with the most incisive finish and goals galore. England though may have put far too great emphasis on over elaboration and overdoing the fancy approach work.
In fairness to Albania, their ex Arsenal player Silvinho, now coach to Albania had worked out a grand masterplan to stifle Tuchel's England. Having erected an eleven man defensive wall in front of them, England would probably have needed an earth remover and bulldozer to break down the visitors. Commonly known as the low block, Albania were almost camped inside their own half permanently, touching and nicking the ball occasionally but then surrendering all hope within minutes of the game.
England though made all the right commendable noises and attacked with both urgency and intensity. But then they started tapping out their version of Morse Code, shifting the ball sideways and then backwards as if treating it like a hot potato. Then there seemed a baffling insistence on the horizontal and the vertical, the ball moving into nowhere in particular before drifting off into a private recycling no man's land. It looked as if they were trapped in a maze or confusing labyrinth where football disappears into a world of its own.
As for the team itself both the veteran Kyle Walker, Ezri Konsa and the 32 year old Newcastle all conquering Carabao Cup hero, Dan Burn fixed up their defensive picket line and refused to budge. Newcomer and Arsenal favourite Myles Lewis Skelly, a mere child of nature and still learning the ropes, was simply a dazzling revelation, comfortably playing his way out of trouble and just impregnable. The truth is that England didn't really need their defence last night so surplus to requirements were they.
Liverpool's Curtis Jones was promisingly and impressively adventurous with neat ball control, darting runs and a willingness to run at Albania. Declan Rice, as is customary now, did the simple things correctly, stable, assured and never flustered. He also ventured forward into attack from time to time and now seems likely to become a very capable holding midfield player with a licence to roam forward.
For his part, Phil Foden sadly vanished from the game after a while and this may be a source of concern and anxiety for Thomas Tuchel. The Manchester City midfield player has hitherto been an essential worker and catalyst at the start of all City's attacks, buzzing, scurrying, tricking and deliberately deceiving opponents with the ball at his feet. Foden though has had a forgettable season for City and his presence in their attack has almost been non existent and negligible. Foden did spark and shine last night but then any remaining energy seemed to drain from him.
Both Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford did lead England's forward line with a hearty appetite for goal and a sixth sense that there was something in it for them. Kane shepherded the ball admirably into dangerous areas for the captain and Rashford powered his way past players as if determined to prove his doubters wrong. Kane had half chances to score while Rashford kept hunting for goals.
England's goals though were worth waiting for. With just over 20 minutes gone and tentative sparring with a very meek and submissive Albania, England finally broke through. The remarkably gifted Jude Bellingham, who kept dragging the Albanians out of their formation with some masterful body swerves, picked up the ball deep into the half and then released the most stunning, low through pass past three statuesque Albanian defenders that just split all of them in half. Myles Lewis Skelly, quick on the uptake and superbly responsive, sneaked into the penalty area and seizing the opportunity, clipped the ball precisely past a helpless Albanian goalkeeper for a goal to remember.
After a second half that came and went in a rapid flash, England went about their business, engaged with the task at hand but never really bothering to leave a lasting imprint on the game. A second goal, although much prized, had become irrelevant. It did though come and we were more than grateful for its appearance. In any other circumstances, England may have put their foot on the accelerator pedal but this was an England in first gear with no real inclination to humiliate their visitors.
Firstly Kyle Walker and then Declan Rice swapped what had to be the thousandth passes on the night, before the Arsenal defender floated the ball serenely and high towards Harry Kane. Kane, with polished expertise, brought the ball down from the sky beautifully, turned inside his defender with the deftest touch and then curled the ball delicately past the Albania keeper. Here was a master of his craft, knowing what to do and how to do it.
So yet again England are off to another flying start in another World Cup qualifier. Latvia at Wembley on Monday are next on their busy schedule. Serbia will follow in due course and theoretically England should be contemplating an advance plane booking to next year's World Cup. But then Sir Alf Ramsey and Graham Taylor must have been thinking along the same lines in years gone by and look what happened to them. Anyway at least Sir Norman Wisdom must have been having a private giggle. Even Albania, in giving Wisdom special status, may have seen the funny side of this game.