England news conference: Tuchel and Kane speak before Albania

A record-equalling run?

Thomas Tuchel's players have an opportunity in Albania this weekend to equal the European record for most competitive wins in a row without conceding a goal.

England's current run of nine games is one shy of the record set by Spain, whose streak encompassed qualifying for Euro 2016 and their first two fixtures of that tournament.

'Anderson and Rice complement each other very well'

Albania v England (Sun, 17:00 GMT)

England

Thomas Tuchel on Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson being his main midfield pairing: "Elliot and Declan are at the moment ahead in midfield. They are a very good pair and complement each other very well. They are performing at the highest level for club and country. Biggest complement to both of them.

"We took Declan out [of the last match] after 65 minutes to have the chance to play again, Elliot played 90 minutes and it is his first season to play international games as well as for Nottingham Forest, he is a key player there too.

"We will wait for information from the medical department and decide tomorrow."

'We will not use it as an excuse'

Albania v England (Sun, 17:00 GMT)

England

Thomas Tuchel on Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa's absence: "It's just what it is. We all need to adapt. We always would like to have everyone in camp. We were sad for Marc, he tried everything to be with us for the second match but very quickly we realised there was no chance he can be with us on the pitch. He wanted to be with us at Wembley and support the team which we like. It shows the determination He feels a strong part of this group which he is.

"Now Ezri is out we have to find solutions. It is what it is and we have strong enough players to have another good performance. The structure is there to make it easier now to compensate. The players are very aware of how we want to play.

"It is also a chance to maybe have fresh legs and reward the training sessions and performances on the pitch. Let's see. The last decision is not made but we will not use it as an excuse. Someone else will step up I am very sure."

'Albania are the full package'

Albania v England (Sun, 17:00 GMT)

England

More from Thomas Tuchel on Albania: "They are very strong in counter-attacks, they are very flexible in the midfield three, they change a lot of positions which will be quite demanding to defend against. They like to attack down the right with a lot of speed and dangerous crosses. They are a full package.

"I just hope the players are able to adapt and answer the questions the opponent asks us."

'We need to get the foundation right'

Albania v England (Sun, 17:00 GMT)

England

Thomas Tuchel on if he wants to make history by remaining unbeaten without conceding: "I didn't speak a single word about that. We made sure we had yesterday the training session that we had, the quality and mentality of the guys who didn't play was on the highest level which was pure pleasure to watch and be part of. It showed me again that we are building and growing in the right way. Everyone is ready to play, everyone is desperate to start. The competition is still on, the hunger is on to be on the pitch tomorrow. That is the most important.

"Today we prepared for Albania and we prepared our offensive solutions, spoke about the defensive structure of Albania like always and had a tactical training session. Everything we talk about is about the process and about the things that we can influence. We need to get the foundation right to have a chance to have these records. Just by thinking about it or by talking about it nothing will change, we need to deliver tomorrow again. The feeling and the trust is absolutely there because I witnessed this in camp. I trust my players to perform again tomorrow."

'I hope hunger to win is bigger than fear of losing'

Albania v England (Sun, 17:00 GMT)

England

Thomas Tuchel on Albania's Armando Broja, who he worked with at Chelsea: "We know a clean sheet can always break in football. I know him very well because he was my player at Chelsea. He plays regularly for Albania and mostly on the right wing, where we expect him tomorrow. He brings directness and speed, he is dagerous because he always thinks about scoring. I hope we have solutions to defend him.

"In general I just hope and I feel the hunger for us to win and to achieve something is bigger than the fear of losing and the fear of maybe losing a record of clean sheets. These things just happen. We are well aware that we put a lot of effort in to defend as a team and it's only possible to have so many clean sheets because we defend properly as a team which is the case but you also need a bit of luck in certain moments. We should not focus too much on what we have to lose, we should be more excited about the next possibility to show our quality and to have another exciting and intense match."

'Just ball possession is not enough'

Albania v England (Sun, 17:00 GMT)

England

More from Thomas Tuchel on what he expects from Albania and if he thought they would finish second in the group: "I thought Albania and Serbia are both very passionate about their football teams, they have always been very talented traditionally with players in the biggest leagues. We thought these are the two teams to beat.

"Now we see that Albaina deserved the second place. It's difficult to create chances and convert chances against them. They are well-trained and well-drilled. I think we will dominate the game, but ball possession alone will not do it. We need to control the game but control the counter attacks before they create chances. We need good counter-pressing and just ball possession is not enough. We need to transform that into chances and if we have chances we are normally clinical. We expect a difficult match."

'We expect a difficult match'

Albania v England (Sun, 17:00 GMT)

England

Thomas Tuchel on whether he thought Albania would be second after qualifying draw made: "I saw that Albania and Serbia are very passionate about their football teams, they have always been traditionally very talented players who play in the biggest leagues so we straight away thought they were the two teams to beat.

"Now we see Albania are well deserved to be second place. It is very difficult to create and convert chances against them. I think we will dominate the game, I think and hope, but ball possession alone will not do it so we need to control the game and be aware to control the counter-attacks.

"We need to try and transform ball possession into chances. If we have them we are normally clinical enough to score. But we expect a difficult match."

'All of us grew together'

Albania v England (Sun, 17:00 GMT)

England

Thomas Tuchel on what he has learned since his first game in charge of England against Albania in March: "I learned a lot about the job, I had to learn the job because it's very different from club football. All of us grew together and we started with very good results in the first camp and with solid, serious performances. Two good wins, two clean sheets. I learned a lot about football because my assistants keep me on my toes with new information, new strategies, new ways to play, new data about physical input and output and that is good. They are on top of the game as coaches to influence our players.

"We want to win again, tomorrow we face an Albania side that is difficult to break down. In qualification they only conceded three goals in qualifying, two from us and one more. It's difficult to score against them."

Foden as false nine again?

Plenty has been said about England's striker options after Harry Kane, and Thomas Tuchel may well use tomorrow's game to experiment with his options once more.

In England's last match against Serbia, Phil Foden was brought on to play as a false nine and set up Eberechi Eze's goal in the 2-0 win.

"It's absolutely an opportunity," said Tuchel after the Serbia game about Foden playing that role should there be any issues with Kane.

"If Phil stays in his shape and form, I have no problem [playing him as a No 9]. I have some other options in mind that I do not want to discuss in public."

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Albania v England (Sun, 17:00 GMT)

England

Harry Kane on who he thinks most important opponent of his Bayern team-mates could be for World Cup: "France are going to play a big part in next year's World Cup, me and Michael [Olise] get on and joke about it.

"Then most of the German team, they will want to go far in the tournament. There is healthy competition and healthy banter between the guys on who can get their hands on the World Cup next summer."

'Tuchel brings an aura'

Albania v England (Sun, 17:00 GMT)

England

Harry Kane on what Thomas Tuchel has brought to the role: "He's done a really good job. Coming in to being England manager is never easy, espectally after Gareth who was one of our most successful managers. He's tried to stamp his own feel into training, into meetings.

"He comes with a lot of enthusiasm. Tactically we are really precise going into every game. He's been building different ideas leading up to next summer. Form now until then there will be more he would like to add. Tactically he has been fantastic.

"He brings a personality, he brings an aura that represents an England manager. Going into a major tournament that is important as well. Other teams know he is one of the best managers in the world and that brings weight as well."

'Not conceding through qualifying would be special'

Albania v England (Sun, 17:00 GMT)

England

Harry Kane on being motivated for a game that has nothing riding on it: "There's still a lot of motivation. The last game in an England shirt for the year is always important to win for momentum.

"We also know we have qualified and Albania are into the play-offs but we still have not conceded and I think that is a great motivation. Not conceding any goals through the campaign would be special motivation.

"It is also about reaching our level and if we do we feel we can beat any team in the world, it doesn't matter who the opposition is."

'More motivation' for players in World Cup year

Albania v England (Sun, 17:00 GMT)

England

Harry Kane on how competition for players has altered the mindset of players and them dropping out of camps: "A World Cup year is a big difference, everyone wants to be part of a World Cup, it's the biggest tournament you will play in your professional career. The motivation that's around the corner and there is not a lot of time for the manager to see you. Naturally there is more motivation to prove a point and prove your way into the team.

"There will be moments where there are injuries and people who aren't fit, but when you are trying to build that winning culture and winning team, having players around the place is a great message to send to everyone else. The boss has made it clear there is still a lot of competition for a lot of people and that excites people."

'Healthy competition pushes us'

Albania v England (Sun, 17:00 GMT)

England

Harry Kane on Thomas Tuchel being clear to all players on their roles: "There's great competition for places in a lot of positions. People know their positions and who their competition is.

"I think it allows people to come into the camp and feel free. There is that healthy competition that pushes each other to a higher standard.

"The boss is really clear when he talks to players and I think it will be the same all the way up to the tournament.

"There will be some players who don't get to play but he will make it clear on roles."

'Everyone feels ready to be part of it'

Albania v England (Sun, 17:00 GMT)

England

More from Harry Kane on if this camp feels different: "Different in the fact with the coach it feels different in how we work. The environment has been a big part of our culture and what we tried to build. With Gareth that was a big identity we had and we had the transition between Gareth and Thomas.

"Everyone feels ready to be part of it, they want to come and show what they can do, show the boss they deserve to be picked for next summer. Everyone is mid-season and it's a brutal time playing every three or four days but it's important we have our days to build on what we can before the summer."

'You have to be able to adapt'

Albania v England (Sun, 17:00 GMT)

England

Harry Kane on England changing tactics during the game against Serbia and his role of dropping deep: "The boss had seen something more and we changed the shape to go man for man.

"For me it was about helping us get out of the initial build up. It worked really well. I think those moments especially in tournaments are really important. You have to be able to adapt mid-game if they turn up with a different system.

"We are just trying to be as prepared as we can for any opposition we come up against in the summer."

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