England is taking on Albania in a crucial World Cup qualifying match with the three lions desperate for a win to build momentum before the tournament next year.
As the whistle blows, the English team takes to the field with their backline looking solid with Quansah at right-back and Stones holding down centre-half alongside Burn. The midfield trio of Wharton, Bellingham, and Rice looks to dictate the pace but it's clear that England are not taking this tie lightly as they look for a comfortable win.
In a slick move, Bowen picks out Kane on the edge of the box with O'Reilly providing the through ball. However, Strakosha makes an easy save to deny Kane his 76th goal and England's first of the match. The Albania goalkeeper then almost scores himself when Rice finds him with a well-struck cross that leaves Strakosha scrambling.
England's pressure is building as O'Reilly picks out Bellingham down the left flank, but their attack falters slightly before Bowen is fouled by Hysaj and England are forced into a corner. The set-piece is expertly cleared by Burn, though.
As the half draws to a close, England are on top, but Albania's Hoxha wins another corner through his pace and determination, with Asllani taking aim from the spot. Bowen clears at near post, sending the crowd wild.
With just minutes left in the first half, Declan Rice sends it back to Dean Henderson and England are under way. However, the English team are struggling to break Albania's defensive line and we can expect a second-half dominated by the visitors with the air of confidence growing around them.
As the whistle blows, the English team takes to the field with their backline looking solid with Quansah at right-back and Stones holding down centre-half alongside Burn. The midfield trio of Wharton, Bellingham, and Rice looks to dictate the pace but it's clear that England are not taking this tie lightly as they look for a comfortable win.
In a slick move, Bowen picks out Kane on the edge of the box with O'Reilly providing the through ball. However, Strakosha makes an easy save to deny Kane his 76th goal and England's first of the match. The Albania goalkeeper then almost scores himself when Rice finds him with a well-struck cross that leaves Strakosha scrambling.
England's pressure is building as O'Reilly picks out Bellingham down the left flank, but their attack falters slightly before Bowen is fouled by Hysaj and England are forced into a corner. The set-piece is expertly cleared by Burn, though.
As the half draws to a close, England are on top, but Albania's Hoxha wins another corner through his pace and determination, with Asllani taking aim from the spot. Bowen clears at near post, sending the crowd wild.
With just minutes left in the first half, Declan Rice sends it back to Dean Henderson and England are under way. However, the English team are struggling to break Albania's defensive line and we can expect a second-half dominated by the visitors with the air of confidence growing around them.
. They're building up that pressure, but Albania's defense is looking solid. Strakosha is making some amazing saves, and I'm surprised England aren't scoring more goals considering how many chances they're having.
. They're dominating possession, but when they get caught out, Albania is catching them off guard. It's like they're trying to take control of the game too quickly, and it's leaving them open to those quick Albanian breaks.
. They need a win to build momentum for next year's World Cup, so I expect them to push through and make some serious progress. Let's hope they can get that first goal soon 
!
. They're just being too cautious and not taking enough risks on the pitch. And that corner kick they had? Yeah, it was basically begging to be cleared by Burn, but somehow he still managed to make it out unscathed 
. I mean, what's the point of even having a World Cup qualifying match if you're just gonna play it safe all the time? It's like England is trying to set themselves up for a disappointing exit from the tournament already 
. And don't even get me started on their midfield trio – Wharton, Bellingham, and Rice are just not moving at the same pace as Albania 
. This one's gotta be a tough loss for England...
also, what's with the midfield trio not being able to create more chances? Wharton and Bellingham are decent players, but rice is having an off day, imo 
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he's been bugging me all day to make some snacks for him while the game is on btw I was so stressed about it earlier because we have a big family gathering next weekend and I still need to finish baking his mom's famous cake 
my little niece just spilled an entire box of flour all over the kitchen lol anyway back to the match idk how England's gonna bounce back from that near miss 
50/50 odds for England win at the start of this qualifying match were kinda low, but Albania's got some serious fight in 'em 
I mean, only 1 loss in last 10 matches, and they're still giving the 3 Lions a run for their money 
this is what they need, momentum and wins before the world cup! 76 goals for keane? that's crazy! but albania's got some speed too 
. Can't they come up with something more creative?
. "The midfield trio of Wharton, Bellingham, and Rice looks to dictate the pace"... can't they just break it up into paragraphs or something? It's like they're trying to make this as boring as possible 
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. But for anyone else, can't we expect a bit more from our online sports forums?
! England is definitely giving it their all, but I gotta say, I'm a bit surprised they're not pulling away more convincingly. The midfield trio is looking strong, and Kane's been causing some problems for Albania's defense, but that save from Strakosha was huge 
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The way Quansah is holding down that right-back spot looks 
solid, but Albania's Strakosha is looking 
and i gotta say england is looking a bit dodgy atm 
️ Kane's still hungry for goals though, 76th and counting 
Bowen's looking sharp on the wing, lets hope he can create more chances 
. And what's with the constant corners from Albania? You'd think they'd try to mix it up a bit, but nope... just keep kicking away 
. I'm still hoping England can turn this around in the second half, but right now, I'm not feeling confident 
. They seem to be taking Albania pretty seriously and it's showing in their play 
️. Quansah at right-back is looking solid tho 
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, he was so close! Strakosha was like superhuman today, savin' those shots left and right 
. England's midfield is on point tho, wharton, bellingham, and rice are killin' it out there 
. Albania's not gonna go down without a fight though, their defense is lookin' solid 
. This second half is gonna be intense, can't wait to see what happens