Thomas Tuchel has handed some players a chance to stake their claim for a World Cup spot as England face Albania.
Tuchel has rotated heavily in Tirana and Jude Bellingham is among those to be handed a start as he auditions to be the Three Lions’ starting No10. Adam Wharton will also hope to take an opportunity to impress as he starts at the base of the midfield.
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In what will be their last match of 2025, England will face the side guaranteed to finish second behind them in Group K. Albania’s win over Andorra on Thursday confirmed they will finish above Serbia, who England beat 2-0 on the same night.
Tuchel’s side have a tight turnaround from a Thursday to Sunday game and a short recovery period, so the England head coach has not taken any risks in case of fitness concerns.
Ezri Konsa played the full 90 minutes against Serbia but has not travelled to Tirana due to calf tightness.
Marc Guehi also dropped out of the squad after failing to recover from a bruised foot.
Bukayo Saka appeared to be moving gingerly for part of the Serbia game, but allayed fears of any injury when he spoke to ITV after the match and trained on Saturday. Regardless, he is named to the bench.
Harry Kane starts up top, as expected.
Tuchel has opted to use the game for more experimentation, given it is another dead rubber for already-qualified England. Bellingham came off the bench as Morgan Rogers started against Serbia, but the manager has handed the Real Madrid midfielder a chance to impress in Albania.
Dan Burn and Jarrod Bowen both start after not being involved against Serbia, as does Dean Henderson.
Nick Pope and Anthony Gordon dropped out of the squad on Tuesday through injury.
England XI (4-2-3-1): Henderson; Burn, Quansah, Stones, O’Reilly; Rice, Wharton; Eze, Bellingham, Bowen; Kane
Subs: Pickford, James, Chalobah, Saka, Henderson, Rashford, Spence, Rogers, Foden, Anderson, Trafford, Scott
Injured: Konsa, Guehi, Gordon, Pope
Date and time: 5pm GMT on Sunday, November 16, 2025
Venue: Arena Kombëtare, Tirana
TV Channel: ITV
