England player ratings vs. Albania: Arsenal man struggles as Kane starsplaceholder image
England player ratings vs. Albania: Arsenal man struggles as Kane stars | Getty Images
Rating England’s players after their 2-0 win World Cup qualifying win over Albania.
England completed a perfect World Cup qualifying campaign with their 2-0 win over Albania on Sunday evening, as a somewhat experimental side earned an eighth win and clean sheet out of eight in Group K.
Jarell Quansah finally earned a long-awaited debut, England tried their hand at three at the back and players such as Jarrod Bowen and Adam Wharton were given a chance to impress in Tirane – but with only one international break left between now and the World Cup in 2026, who made their case and who failed to impress? Here are our player ratings after the win in Albania.
Former Liverpool man Jarrel Quansah’s solid debut among defensive headline
Dean Henderson – 7/10: Henderson was given the opportunity to cement his place as England’s number two and made a good fist of it, producing three decent saves and some solid distribution while positioning himself sensibly throughout. Almost certain to be on the plane to the United States at this point.
Nico O’Reilly – 7: O’Reilly keeping Djed Spence out of the team for all 180 minutes of the international break bodes well for his chances of making the squad and he put in a second consecutive display of measured, economical football at left-back on Sunday. He did miss both of his attempted tackles but otherwise held up well one-on-one, looked good on the ball and passed with precision.
Dan Burn – 7: This is probably the best that Burn has been with the ball at his feet in a while, and certainly for England. He’s mostly in the squad for his more old-fashioned defensive qualities but as well as being sturdy at the back he showed off some smart passing – completing 98 over the course of the game. Gave nothing away at the back and kept himself in the race for the States, even if John Stones, Marc Guéhi and Ezri Konsa all feel like they’re ahead of him.
John Stones – 7: Stones revived his old hybrid centre-back/midfielder role from Manchester City’s treble-winning season to allow the Three Lions to build a largely counter-attack proof 3-2-5 formation on the ball and it all worked well enough, with Stones scarcely putting a foot wrong – although Arber Hoxha’s pace did give him some real positional headaches, which may worry Thomas Tuchel.
Jarrel Quansah – 7: Finally granted a debut after being called up to several squads in a row, the former Liverpool defender looked at home in his ‘false right-back’ role even if he, like Stones, was caught cold by the lively Hoxha on a couple of occasions. Those scares aside he handled Albania’s forward forays well and was reliable on the ball. Will he squeak into the squad for next summer? He didn’t do his chances any harm here, at least.
Adam Wharton & Jude Bellingham stake their claims for England starting places
Declan Rice – 6: An unusually quiet night for Rice, who only touched the ball 38 times in an hour. There’s a sense that he isn’t at his best against teams defending in a low block and makes rather more hay in games which are a little more stretched – although he might have made more of an impact had he been left on corner duties. Trying short corners through Wharton was one of Tuchel’s less successful experiments on the night.
Adam Wharton – 7: Given the chance to prove that he deserves to partner Rice instead of Elliot Anderson, Wharton staked a reasonable claim without making his case in an overwhelming fashion. He worked hard off the ball (with three interceptions and five turnovers in total) and set up three shooting chances, but didn’t stamp himself onto the match as he sometimes does at Crystal Palace.
Jude Bellingham – 7: Bellingham didn’t ultimately find the net or tee up either of England’s goals, and this wasn’t one of his very best outings by any means – but he was absolutely everywhere, both at the heart of most of his team’s best attacking moves and sliding in with a superb late tackle on Hoxha to deny a clear opportunity in his own penalty area. Where his apparent rival for a starting spot, Morgan Rogers, can drift out of games, Bellingham imposes himself incessantly.
Eberechi Eze – 5: Deservedly given the chance to audition for the left-wing role after his brilliant goal against Serbia, Eze was probably the least impressive performer on the night for England, often drifting out of the game, struggling to find space, and missing a good chance at the near post when he did get some wiggle room.
Jarrod Bowen – 7: Incredibly energetic for most of the evening, Bowen was clearly desperate to make his mark during a rare start for England and forced a brilliant save from Thomas Strakosha with an angled drive which could easily have ended up as a fine goal. Ultimately failed to bother the scoresheet, but showed plenty of dynamism and drive nonetheless.
Harry Kane – 9: Clear-cut chances were a little hard to come by against Albania’s disciplined defence, but Kane only needs half-sights of goal. His second of the evening took him past Péle’s international tally and he only needs one more to make the Top 10 all-time alongside Neymar. There isn’t much new to be said here – England are just very lucky to have him.
Marcus Rashford only sub to make major impact
Phil Foden (on Rice 62’) – 6: Having been deployed as a centre-forward against Serbia, Tuchel reimagined Foden as a central midfielder on Sunday and he did a pretty good job of it – knocking the ball around nicely and creating a couple of half-chances. The downside to the idea of Foden the midfielder, of course, is that he’s poor out of possession and, unsurprisingly, didn’t force a turnover, cut out a pass, or even attempt a single tackle off the ball.
Bukayo Saka (on for Eze 62’) – 6: Saka isn’t often a peripheral figure for England but he was for the final half-hour against Albania. The Arsenal winger hardly got on the ball and neither got a shot away nor created a chance.
Marcus Rashford (on for Bowen 75’) – 7: Rashford was surely the liveliest of the substitutes – in the space of just 15 minutes he created two presentable chances, picked up the assist for Kane’s second, and got into open spaces on several occasions despite the tightly-packed Albanian defence. A pretty good week for Rashford in terms of cementing his place in the squad.
Elliot Anderson (on for Wharton 75’) – 7: Amazingly, Anderson found time to complete 52 passes (10 more than Wharton managed in total) despite only being on the pitch for a quarter of an hour. His cameo may not have been memorable but it highlighted his ability to get involved in play all the way up and down the pitch. Anderson surely won the battle between him and Wharton, this week at least.
Morgan Rogers (on for Bellingham 84’) – 6: Rogers didn’t really have much time to reply to Bellingham’s performance and was tidy but not influential for the duration of a brief cameo.
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