Albania vs England live: Latest score and updates from World Cup 2026 qualifier

Ireland’s stunning win over Portugal in Dublin on Thursday revives their hopes of reaching the play-offs, and the Irish will meet Hungary – one point above them – on Sunday in a battle for the play-off place. Portugal are almost certain to clinch top spot, even without the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo, given they play lowly Armenia in their final match.

Scotland were beaten 3-2 in Greece on Saturday night to seemingly throw away their hopes of automatic World Cup qualification, only for Belarusto stun Denmark with a 2-2 draw and keep the group alive.

Steve Clarke’s side will now meet Denmark at Hampden Park on Tuesday night in a huge showdown to decide who books their place at the World Cup and who has to settle for the play-offs. Scotland must win, or else the Danes will take top spot.

Wales are level on points with second-placed North Macedonia in their group , and the Welsh host them on Tuesday night. That game is crucial as it will decide who goes through to the play-offs.

Northern Ireland are out of the running for a top-two finish after Tomas Bobcek’s 91st-minute winner for Slovakia in Kosice but Michael O’Neill’s men are into the play-offs thanks to their Nations League performance. Luxembourg are bottom of the group on nil points and have scored just a single goal in qualifying.

In the 65th minute the Wembley crowd delivered the loudest noise of the night, louder than either of England’s two goals, louder even than the cheer when a paper aeroplane took off from the upper tier and landed on the pitch during a lull in the second half. Jude Bellingham arrived to a booming roar that told Thomas Tuchel exactly what fans thought about his choice to bench the Real Madrid midfielder. Some paid £80 per ticket, and they hadn’t come to see Morgan Rogers.

Of course, Bellingham couldn’t possibly have started Thursday’s 2-0 win over Serbia, not without Tuchel giving up his leverage. Tuchel stuck by his guns over recent months with a selection policy of retaining the players who were performing for England rather than picking familiar names, and his decision to omit Bellingham from October’s camp was a statement of intent. Throwing Bellingham back into the starting XI at the first opportunity would have undermined his own stance.

Thomas Tuchel can plan for a summer on the other side of the Atlantic. England have seven straight wins in World Cup qualifying, without conceding a goal, and Tuchel has seven men who, fitness permitting, should start in his preferred team at the World Cup.

If some of his decisions involve filling out the squad and finding the right back-ups, Tuchel may have four big calls. Sunday’s final qualifier against Albania may help decide it, even if some of the candidates for places in the United States are nowhere near Tirana.

But, whoever they may be, four more have to join Jordan Pickford, Reece James, John Stones, Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane among Tuchel’s first-choice starting XI.

So, who else is in action today?

It’s a huge day for the Republic of Ireland, who need to beat Hungary in Budapest to secure a play-off place. Portugal take on Armenia with a draw likely enough to take top spot in Group F – those matchers kicked off at 2pm, and you can follow the Ireland game with our dedicated blog.

2022 finalists France – who have already qualified – take on Azerbaijan while Ukraine face Iceland in Group D.

Norway will secure the automatic qualification spot in Group I as long as they avoid a 9-0 defeat to Italy, with the Azzurri having secured the play-off place.

And of course, there’s a dead-rubber game between Latvia and Serbia in England’s group too.

The 48 nations competing at the 2026 World Cup will discover their group stage opponents when the draw takes place on 5 December.

The tournament will be the first to feature 48 teams, expanded from 32 in Qatar, and will also be the first World Cup to be hosted by three countries. The majority of 104 games will be staged in the USA (78), with Mexico and Canada hosting 13 each.

The World Cup will begin on 11 June in Mexico’s historic Azteca Stadium, the scene of Brazil’s 1970 glory inspired by Pele and Argentina’s success in 1986 led by Diego Maradona.

It will conclude with the final on 19 July at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Here is everything you need to know.

Here’s the report from last time out for England…

The man Thomas Tuchel had omitted in October came on, for his international comeback, to make a point and in some style. Not Jude Bellingham. Or not just Bellingham, anyway. In a 2-0 victory that could be attributed to Tuchel, his words leading to the opener, his deeds to the clincher, Phil Foden may have provided Tuchel with an answer to the conundrum of the surfeit of No 10s. Eberechi Eze, too.

They could not all go to the World Cup, Tuchel had suggested. But if Foden had looked potentially vulnerable, the man who could be squeezed out, a player used on the left in Euro 2024 had a new guise: as Harry Kane’s understudy. Foden was used in attack, winning his first cap since March. Eze was introduced on the left wing, scored and thrust himself into a different debate. In a quadruple change, Bellingham was brought on in his preferred position and looked an upgrade on the starter Morgan Rogers. But that may not have been the revelation of the night. Foden, arguably, was. “Phil can make any team better in an offensive position,” said Tuchel.

Thomas Tuchel will warn his England players to avoid any red cards against Albania that mean they miss the start of the World Cup.

The England manager suggested he would be willing to give an Albania player a clear run on goal rather than seeing one of his defenders incur a sending off that would bring them a suspension for the beginning of next summer’s tournament.

Ezri Konsa has been ruled out of England’s World Cup qualifier in Albania with a calf injury.

The Aston Villa defender, who has started England’s last four games, was left behind when the squad travelled to Tirana. And with Marc Guehi already out, it could give Jarell Quansah a chance to make a belated debut or for Trevoh Chalobah to win his second cap.

Nick Pope, Anthony Gordon and Marc Guehi – the latter suffering from heavy bone bruising on his foot – all withdrew from Tuchel’s squad before Thursday’s win over Serbia. Ezri Konsa has also been ruled out with a calf injury.

Jude Bellingham impressed as a substitute for Morgan Rogers and could take his starting berth, while Phil Foden played as an understudy for Harry Kane up front and is likely to feature again in the same role.