Sunday night's trip to Albania proved to be a difficult evening for a much-changed England side, who eventually secured a 2-0 win with two second-half goals from captain Harry Kane.
England had already sealed top spot and the hosts had already clinched second place, earning them a slot in the World Cup qualifying playoff round, making the result ultimately meaningless. That is perhaps why it felt like an England team which saw seven changes from the side that beat Serbia 2-0 were struggling to hit top gear, although Albania also showed impressive organisation to quell an experimental England team while creating a few bright moments going forward.
The Three Lions started the game playing a 4-3-3/3-2-5 hybrid with John Stones playing a duel role that saw him drift between central defence and central midfield, leaving the full-backs to tuck in alongside Dan Burn to form a back three. But the novel idea, inspired by Stones often being deployed in a similar role by Pep Guardiola, didn't really work; Stones struggled to move the ball around with any urgency in midfield, while he was often left facing a foot-race to try and plug the gap he left behind in defence.
England often looked uncertain at the back, perhaps because of Thomas Tuchels' highly transitional game-plan, and Albania exploited the ambiguity over their roles by running at the defence. Dean Henderson, standing in for Nick Pope, made two vital saves early in the second half - one at his near post and one which should have been curled into the bottom corner but was instead fired straight at him - and that flurry of activity motivated Tuchel to make changes.
Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka came on from the bench for Declan Rice and Eberechi Eze, and the Three Lions quickly looked more productive going forward. Meanwhile, the Stones experiment was abandoned in favour of a traditional back four. The game opened up and the pressure eventually told when Kane struck home from close range at a corner, before adding to the scoresheet after substitute Marcus Rashford unleashed an exquisite cross into the box - leaving the Bayern Munich striker to head home.
England ended the evening as winners of a laborious game, meaning they finished their World Cup qualfiying campaign with a perfect record - eight wins from eight with 22 goals scored and none conceded.
Match Highlights
Match highlights to come.
England Player Ratings
England
Dean Henderson - 7.5
Made a string of important saves to stop Albania causing an upset and also timed a slide-tackle perfectly when the hosts almost capitalised on a loose pass-back to enjoy a free run at goal. Didn't offer a great deal in posession but Henderson is clearly England's most solid option should something happen to Pickford.
Jarrell Quansah - 7
A positive night overall with a few bright moments going forward and no real errors at the back. Seemed the most comfortable defender during England's underwhelming hybrid backline experiment and remained composed despite a somewhat hostile atmosphere.
John Stones - 6
Not entirely his fault but the midfield experiment just didn't work - he often looked in danger of being caught out in possession and found himself way out of position when England did lose the ball. Stones looked more comfortable playing a traditional centre-back role, but still struggled to provide the incisive forward passes he's famous for.
Dan Burn - 5.5
Not a great night for Burn, who looked a little out of his depth at times. The towering centre-half struggled when operating as a lone centre-back, was often found back-pedaling during Albania counter-attacks and in the second half almost gave a goal away with a calamitous pass straight to an Albania player. He could've been punished more than once by better opposition.
Nico O'Reilly - 7
The Manchester City youngster looked nervous at the start and seemed to be playing within himself, but definitely grew into the game as it went on. The second half saw O'Reilly make several marauding runs, take positions in central midfield and pick up the ball in difficult areas. It's easy to see why Guardiola and Tuchel are both fans of the youngster, who looks a promising all-round player.
Adam Wharton - 6.5
No real areas to criticise Wharton outside of occasionally failing to protect the back four. The Crystal Palace midfielder provided his usual brand of forward passing from deep positions, although not much of it lead to anything positive for England.
Declan Rice - 6
Popped up in some good positions in and around Albania's box but didn't especially imprint himself on the game either. Tuchel appears determined to use Rice as a No.8 and while that makes a lot of sense against quality opposition, he didn't have too much impact versus Albania's low block.
Jude Bellingham - 7.5
Always tried to be productive even though a few moments didn't come off and almost proved costly for England. Showed his mettle with an excellent tackle to stop a counter-attack early in the first half, and demonstrated brief moments of linking up well with Harry Kane. Never quite got to the point of running the game against Albania's congested two banks of four.
Jarrod Bowen - 7
A lot of hard work and a couple of chances - a common description for most of the West Ham winger's performances. Nonetheless, Bowen struggled to create any real moments of magic and with a natural centre-back in Quansah playing behind him, the Three Lions looked uninspired down their right flank.
Eberechi Eze - 5.5
A pretty anonymous performance all-in-all. Eze forced an important save from the Albania goalkeeper but that was his only noteworthy contribution coming inside from the left. Lacked the pace to hurt Albania on the break and didn't do a great deal to cut through their defence when sitting deep either.
Harry Kane - 9
Showed his class by staying alive despite limited quality service in the first half to score twice after the break. Dropped into midfield to bring others into play and showed moments of brilliance on an otherwise dull night for England. Even when not at his commanding best, Kane is an elite goalscorer who delivers in key moments. Could have scored a hat-trick late on.
Substitutes
Phil Foden - 6 - Carried the ball well and added something different to the England team, but no standout moments in half an hour on the pitch.
Bukayo Saka - 6.5 - Could and should have scored when Saka and Bowen both hesitated to put away a ball inside the box. Remained lively.
Marcus Rashford - 7 - Provided a superb assist with a long, looping cross for Kane's second goal and looked more dangerous than Eze on the left.
Elliot Anderson - 6 - No noteworthy impact.
Morgan Rogers - 6 - No noteworthy impact.