Tuchel demands improvement as England labour to victory over Albania

Thomas Tuchel admitted England must "do better" after his tenure as manager began with an unconvincing 2-0 win over Albania in their World Cup qualifier at Wembley on 22 March.

The German coach had called for a high-intensity, attacking performance but instead saw his side struggle to break down Albania's defensive setup, lacking the urgency and precision he had demanded.

Lacklustre display despite victory

Teenage debutant Myles Lewis-Skelly gave England the lead in the 20th minute with a composed finish, repaying Tuchel's decision to start him at left-back. However, England laboured for much of the game, moving the ball sideways with little penetration.

It was not until the 77th minute that Harry Kane finally secured the win with a clinical strike, but long spells of passive possession left Tuchel unimpressed.

"We can do better, we have to do better," Tuchel admitted. "The opponent was hard to wear down because they defended in a deep block, but in the second half, I felt we were too slow.

"In general, we did not make enough runs off the ball to get behind them. We had some heavy legs and looked a little tired.

"We will get better, we will get more rhythm. I will understand the players better, why we struggle to get more runs in the final third. It is step by step. We will analyse it with video sessions and make sure we find solutions."

tuchel's challenge to change england's approach

Tuchel had urged England to adopt the attacking intensity of the best Premier League teams, rather than allowing the fear of failure to dictate their play, as he suggested had been the case under Gareth Southgate.

But the sluggish tempo of his team's performance showed that altering England's approach will take more than a motivational speech.

"We wanted to increase the rhythm and risk in the second half, but we were not disciplined enough in the structure," Tuchel said. "We tried to do too much individually, and it slowed our game down.

"You want to see an open match. I understand it was not the most exciting watch, but we still needed to do what was required to win."

Tuchel highlighted the struggles of wingers Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden, who failed to replicate their club form, as a key factor in England's lack of attacking fluency.

"Both our wingers were not as impactful as they have been for their clubs," Tuchel said. "They didn't have the influence we expected from them. We lacked runs off the ball.

"There was too much passing and not enough carrying the ball. We were not aggressive enough towards goal."

There was further concern as Newcastle's Anthony Gordon suffered a hip injury that Tuchel admitted "did not look good".

However, Lewis-Skelly's historic goal—making him the youngest player to score on his England debut—offered a rare bright spot.

"Amazing player. Amazing personality," Tuchel said of the 18-year-old. "He came into camp and showed straight away why it's easy to fall in love with him. It is well deserved."

Tuchel now has little time to make adjustments before England host Latvia on Monday, as he seeks a sharper, more dynamic performance from his side.