Eze the biggest England loser in Albania win

With no player scoring a goal in a competitive game in Albania since Karol Swiderski for Poland in 2021, even before kick-off this looked like a game that those looking to stake their World Cup claim would rather not be playing in, and so it proved for Eberechi Eze.

“What makes him a great player is his courage” was the classic Roy Keane assessment of Jude Bellingham’s first-half performance as the guys in the ITV studio clutched at discussion straws while analysing one very good run and one very good tackle from England’s No.10 contender, whose touch, passing, vision and finishing are arguably the more crucial factors in making him a great player, not that we saw much of that quality.

READ MORE: Albania 0-2 England player ratings: Eze and Wharton miss chance on difficult night to impress

He produced one very fine defence-splitting pass for Eze but missed one of England’s best chances to score, slipping at the vital moment, and we’re really none the wiser as to who is ‘in possession’ of that No.10 shirt as things stand. Despite the media obsession, that’s fine. On a list of concerns for Tuchel, we doubt that having an abundance of extraordinarily talented playmakers even registers.

High on said list is the left wing spot, and we suspect Anthony Gordon will have thoroughly enjoyed watching both of these games while nursing his hip injury at home.

After Marcus Rashford missed his chance to nail down that position against Serbia, Eze undid much of his fine work off the bench in that 2-0 win in a conspicuously limp and ineffective performance here.

He’s looked far better for Arsenal in central areas while covering for Martin Odegaard than he did at the start of the season when Mikel Arteta shoehorned him in on the left, and after the promise he showed on Thursday after coming on in that position, culminating in that wonderful curled effort having cut inside, this was an hour to illustrate his relative discomfort in that role.

A typical gliding run through midfield saw him bizarrely slow down to allow opposition players to catch up with him and then inexplicably forget he had the ball at all. A fine first touch following the Bellingham through ball was followed by a horribly scuffed finish.

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It doesn’t bode well for his summer chances that he was the first player hooked by Tuchel, who briefly switched Jarrod Bowen to the left to have a look at him after the West Ham captain’s superior impact from the right, before Marcus Rashford replaced him to provide an excellent cross for Harry Kane’s second goal of the night.

We’ve seen nothing in the starts from Rashford or Eze to suggest they’ve done enough to unseat Gordon from the starting lineup, and after their respective standout performances as ‘finishers’ in these two games, Rashford surely holds the advantage over Eze with regard to a place on the plane as a possible No.9 backup to Kane.

Joining Eze in perhaps cursing his inclusion in the starting lineup in a much-changed side in the hardest game will be Dan Burn. He didn’t look comfortable.

While we’re loath to say it as It’s A Great Story and all that, Burn just doesn’t look quite good enough.  Imagining him against a forward with pace and guile is making us very nervous indeed.

And while we’re sure this was a hugely proud moment for Jarell Quansah and his family after he made his long-awaited debut, we can’t imagine he or they are too thrilled at Tuchel starting him on the right. We’re still not entirely sure if he was a right-back or on the right of three centre-backs with John Stones in midfield. To be asked to play in an alien role in an untested fluid system is a huge ask.

He grew into the game after looking particularly shaky early on and Tuchel said in his post-match interview that Quansah “played like he had 50 caps already”. But having started all but three of Bayer Leverkusen’s games since his move from Liverpool at the heart of their defence, he would have fancied being give the opportunity to impress in a favoured position which remains of concern for England ahead of the summer.

But while he may indeed have strengthened his claim as a useful utility player, Eze may well look back on this game – which saw England finish qualifying with eight wins from eight without conceding a goal – as the moment his place at the World Cup slipped through his fingers as the ball got away from him.