THOMAS TUCHEL divided fans with numbers – after ditching one of Gareth Southgate’s England traditions.
The new boss used squad numbers for his starting team, whereas predecessor Southgate had preferred the good old one to 11.
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The only figure Tuchel might care about is the 2-0 margin by which the Three Lions saw off Albania in their World Cup qualifying opener.
But many supporters were split after he abandoned Southgate’s nostalgic numbering, having also opted not to sing the national anthem before the match.
It meant history-making Myles Lewis-Skelly wore the No 23 – which is five above his age.
And England’s other full debutant, 32-year-old Dan Burn, was at 12.
One fan demanded a return to Southgate’s simplicity.
He wrote: “England need to go back to 1-11 numbers on their shirts. What is this number 12, 17 & 23 in the starting XI nonsense?”
Another said: “Why squad numbers? Should be 1-11.”
But other viewers reckons it all just adds up to Tuchel going with the flow – by assigning squad numbers and keeping them for the games.
England ratings vs Albania as Lewis-Skelly enjoys dream debut but Tuchel fails to solve Foden issue
By Tom Barclay
MYLES LEWIS-SKELLY made history and Harry Kane extended his own record-breaking as England sunk Albania in Thomas Tuchel’s first game.
Lewis-Skelly became the youngest player to score on his Three Lions debut and top goal-getter Kane notched his 70th international strike as Tuchel began his World Cup qualifying campaign with a modest 2-0 win.
New boy Dan Burn partnered Ezri Konsa in central defence at Wembley, while Marcus Rashford and Curtis Jones were also handed starts.
Meanwhile, Tuchel wrestled with the same issue faced by predecessor Sir Gareth Southgate – deciding where to fit in Phil Foden.
Left-back Lewis-Skelly, 18, slotted home on 20 minutes following a delightful turn and even better pass from Jude Bellingham.
But England stuttered after the break – until skipper Kane classily took down a Declan Rice pass and curved home the clincher.
Here’s how SunSport’s Tom Barclay rated the Three Lions in German manager Tuchel’s opening match…
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One even claimed: “By far the most encouraging sign for England’s future under Thomas Tuchel is that they appear to have adopted permanent squad numbers instead of the starters always wearing 1-11.”
Meanwhile, a few fans were more intrigued by irked.
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One such observer posted: “Interesting seeing #England not wearing numbers 1-11!”
In the end the debate didn’t subtract from an important victory, albeit one that was far more solid than scintillating.
And apart from the scoreline, only two figures really stood out.
The first was Lewis-Skelly scoring aged only 18 years and 176 days.
So by 33 days he surpassed Marcus Rashford as the youngest player to net on his England debut.
And the second noteworthy number was skipper Harry Kane rounding off the Wembley triumph with his 70th international goal.
That takes Kane 17 clear of second-placed Wayne Rooney in the all-time list of Three Lions’ scorers.
