Eight games, eight wins, 22 goals scored and none conceded: England head coach Thomas Tuchel could not have wished for a more emphatic way to reach the World Cup finals.
But now the hard part begins.
When England were bunched with Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra in Group K, the odds on them not topping the section would have been colossal, especially as England have not lost a World Cup qualifier since 2009.
That they did so with a 100% record and became the first European nation to win every game of a qualification group of six matches or more without conceding a goal was impressive.
But those statistics will be forgotten if England fall short next year in North America where they will be amongst a handful of the 48 nations with a genuine chance of being crowned world champions, in England’s case for the first time since 1966.
Tuchel, tasked with getting England over the line after two European Championship runners-up finishes and a World Cup semi-final under predecessor Gareth Southgate, could hardly wipe the smile off his face after the final whistle in Tirana on Sunday where England beat Albania 2-0.
But the former Paris St Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich coach will know that far sterner tests await.
England have consistently been found wanting against the big guns when it matters: Spain in last year’s Euros final, Italy in the 2021 Euros final, France in the 2022 World Cup quarter-final and Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-final.
England’s record goalscorer Harry Kane, who netted both against Albania, described the current squad as probably the best it has ever been and he has a point.
TUCHEL HAS DEEP SQUAD
Tuchel has an enviable array of creative talent at his disposal with even the likes of Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford not guaranteed starting.
“You look at the starting 11, the players coming off the bench, we are going to go into the tournament as one of the favourites,” Kane said. “We have to accept that, and it’s been like that for the last few tournaments.
“We’ve had a great year together with the new coach and now we are looking forward to a big 2026.”
While the mood is buoyant after 11 successive competitive wins – an England record – some will point to the fact that the opposition since Tuchel took over at the start of the year have been mediocre at best.
The highest-ranked team in the group apart from England was Serbia who are currently 36th while the highest-ranked nation England have beaten was 30th-ranked Wales in a friendly.
The only top-20 nation England have played this year was Senegal in a friendly in June, and they lost 3-1.
England can only beat what is in front of them but having sailed through the group, they will be anxious to test themselves against tougher opponents in the last international window before the World Cup, in March.
Uruguay and Japan have both been lined up as potential opponents in the spring, the last close-up chance Tuchel will have to run the rule over his options.
“It’s been a pleasure to fight with them and push them from the sideline and it’s hard to imagine now not to be with them Wednesday and Saturday, hard to imagine I won’t be with them again now until March,” Tuchel said.
