England vs Albania prediction: Harry Kane to earn victory for Thomas Tuchel in first match | OneFootball

England vs Albania betting tips

A new era begins for England on Friday as Thomas Tuchel takes charge of the side for the first time, with the Three Lions facing Albania at Wembley (7.45pm, ITV1).

The German’s first task is to secure qualification for the 2026 World Cup, and Friday’s match is the first hurdle of the campaign in a group that also includes Latvia, Andorra and Serbia.

All eyes will be on Tuchel as he announces his first starting eleven, with some surprise names in the England squad including Dan Burn, Jordan Henderson and a return for Marcus Rashford.

And there’s only one way to start the qualification campaign – with a win here and against Latvia on Monday.

Unsurprisingly, England are heavy favourites against Albania, who put in spirited performances but exited Euro 2024 at the group stage.

The Three Lions are 1/7 to win on football betting sites, with the visitors priced as high as 16/1.

England vs Albania Betting Preview: Three Lions to start qualifying campaign with a win

The Three Lions’ spell under interim coach Lee Carsley suffered just one slip-up, with a 2-1 loss to Greece in October.

However, that defeat aside, England were imperious in securing promotion from Nations League B, earning easy wins against Finland and the Republic of Ireland as well as a revenge win in Athens.

Friday’s match comes against a similar – if not slightly worse – calibre of opponent to those sides, so the Three Lions should find it simple to earn the three points that Tuchel craves to start his reign.

With plenty of players looking to play themselves into the German’s thoughts, it could be a big scoreline at Wembley on Friday – and a wager on England to win to nil and to win both halves at 17/10 on betting sites is an interesting option.

While little is known for sure about what exactly Tuchel’s England side will look like in practice, one thing is for sure – Harry Kane will be leading the line.

The England talisman endured a difficult Euro 2024 but the argument remains that the side perhaps did not play to his strengths.

And having now settled in Munich, Kane has driven Bayern back to the summit of the Bundesliga, where the Bavarians lead by six points.

The England man has been central to Bayern’s good form so far, with 32 goals and 11 assists in 37 matches this term.

Tuchel will at least try to incorporate the 31-year-old into the starting side, and he may be rewarded with an explosive start by Kane, who has scored four goals against Albania in just two previous appearances.

To that end, you can combinbe Kane to score and to have two or more shots on target at 23/20 on certain betting apps.

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