England player ratings vs Albania: Harry Kane shines; Mason Mount and Luke Shaw impress in comfortable win

AFP via Getty Images
Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP28 March 2021

England made it two wins from two at the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win in Albania.

Captain Harry Kane set England on the way to victory, heading home Luke Shaw’s cross after 38 minutes for his first England goal since November 2019.

Kane turned provider in the second half, setting-up Mason Mount as England followed the 5-0 thrashing of San Marino with another convincing victory.

Here’s how Gareth Southgate‘s side rated in Tirana...

Nick Pope 6

Struggled with his kicking in the early exchanges, twice playing out of play, and involved in a mix-up with Maguire. Another clean sheet made him the first England ‘keeper not to concede in his first six appearances but not entirely convincing.

Kyle Walker 6

Received a silly booking after a careless flick went wrong, which will frustrate Gareth Southgate, and ineffective in the final third. In a tightly-contested position, unlikely to have enhanced his claims.

John Stones 7

Used the ball well and did not shirk the physical challenges, winning a number of towering headers as Albania went direct.

Harry Maguire 7

Caught in a mix-up with Pope towards the death but otherwise a solid display, as he resumed his partnership with Stones.

Luke Shaw 8

Marked his return to the England team for the first time since 2018 with an excellent cross for Kane’s goal. Looked full of energy and dangerous in the final third. Suddenly a tough call between him and Chilwell.

Declan Rice 7

After a cautious start, grew more positive with his passing as the game progressed and look a dynamic pivot, dropping deep and getting forward when necessary.

Kalvin Phillips 6

Neat and tidy again but felt like the spare part in England’s midfield, with Rice often doing his preferred job of dropping between the centre-backs.

Mason Mount 8

Gifted Albania an early break with a sloppy pass but otherwise excellent. His deft touch started to move leading to the opening goal and he bagged the clincher. An absolute nailed-on starter.

Phil Foden 7

Glided across the front line finding pockets of space. Unlucky not to score when his low shot was turned onto the post. Positive.

Raheem Sterling 8

Unlucky not to finish with an assist after both Kane and Foden struck the woodwork from his passes. Was decisive in Mount’s goal, winning the ball and then dummying Kane’s pass for Mount.

Harry Kane 9

Made the difference and showed his enduring class as a No.9 and a No.10, turning home Shaw’s cross with a diving header for his first England goal since November 2019 and setting up Mount’s clincher with a perfectly-weighted pass. Should have scored another but cracked the bar.

Substitutes

James Ward-Prowse (Phillips 71’) 6

More minutes as he battles to be England’s third midfielder, should Jordan Henderson not be fit for the finals. Quiet, with England dropping the tempo late on.

Jesse Lingard (Foden 80’) 6

Underlined his return to favour with another appearance following his lively display against San Marino.

Unused: Henderson, Johnstone, Mings, Coady, James, Trippier, Chilwell, Bellingham, Calvert-Lewin, Watkins.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in