"For Thomas Tuchel, there was an unmistakable circularity, a pleasingness to the narrative arc. The England head coach began his tenure with a World Cup qualifying victory against Albania at Wembley last March. And he finished the first phase of the mission to add a second star to the shirt with another one by the same scoreline in Tirana. It is surely worth taking a moment to digest the headline numbers."
"At the heart of everything was an inevitability. It was Harry Kane who got the goals. Bukayo Saka had been summoned as a substitute and when he went to take a corner, it was the first time he had done so during the campaign. Seconds later, the ball had flicked off the Albania left-back, Naser Aliji, and there was Kane to turn home from point-blank range."
Thomas Tuchel began his England tenure with a World Cup qualifying victory against Albania at Wembley and completed the first phase with another 2-0 win in Tirana. England recorded eight wins from eight qualifiers and eight clean sheets, becoming the first European team to play at least six qualifiers without conceding. The match remained tight until around the hour mark, then substitutes influenced the outcome. Bukayo Saka's corner flicked off Naser Aliji allowed Harry Kane to score from close range, and Marcus Rashford's cross enabled Kane's header for a second. Kane reached 78 international goals and 28 goals in 22 club-and-country appearances this season. Tuchel established a clearer playing identity and positional hierarchy.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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