England take on the visitors Albania in World Cup 2026 qualification match. The match will be played on Friday, March 21st at Wembley Stadium (London).
England officially closed the book on Gareth Southgate's era just over six months ago—an undeniably long and generally successful period. While they never won a title under him, it's worth remembering that England's only major triumph came on home soil at the 1966 World Cup. Southgate's squad, however, consistently reached the latter stages of major tournaments, making the semifinals at the 2018 World Cup and finishing as runners-up at two consecutive Euros, losing the decisive matches to Italy and Spain. Of course, there were setbacks, and last autumn, with no permanent manager in place, England had to compete in Nations League B. They topped their group with five wins, but there were signs of vulnerability, particularly in a 1-2 home loss to Greece, which they only compensated for with a dominant 3-0 away victory. Now, with a new era beginning, England will look to start strongly at Wembley.
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Albania leaves a mixed impression. The Red and Blacks have undeniably improved under Sylvinho. They no longer fear facing top-tier teams and can compete evenly with strong second-tier nations. The Brazilian coach led Albania to a direct qualification for Euro 2024, where they managed an impressive draw against Croatia and suffered only narrow defeats to Italy and Spain. Their Nations League campaign also looked promising, as they contended for promotion alongside Georgia, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine. However, they collapsed in their final two home matches in November, failing to score in a 0-0 draw with the Czechs before losing 1-2 to Ukraine. Despite finishing level on points with Georgia, Albania was relegated to Nations League C due to tiebreaker rules. Sylvinho retained his job despite the setback, but pressure is mounting. That said, expectations for this trip to Wembley are minimal—avoiding a heavy defeat would be seen as a positive outcome.
England has won all six previous meetings between these sides. A repeat of the 5-0 thrashing from 2021 may not be on the cards, but England should still secure a convincing win, covering a -2 goal handicap.
Prediction for the match: England to win with -2.0 handicap.
