83' England surely have the win wrapped up here. Now it's just a case of the visitors seeing this game out.
77' Rice puts the ball out of play for the first Albanian corner of the game. Kane makes a strong header away.
76' Albania enjoy a rare spell on the ball. Hysaj's cross from the right is a dangerous one and Pope steams out to punch clear, cleaning out Maguire in the process.
75' England have been in total control in this second half. They still need to have their wits about them though and make sure they don't give Albania any silly opportunities in the final 15 minutes of this game.
72' Ward-Prowse escapes the attentions of Gjasula to burst down the right. He's got Kane waiting in the centre but can't find his teammate as Albania get back to block.
70' England see off Albania's free-kick from the left easily enough. The visitors are about to make their first change of the game.
67' England get a free-kick outside the box as Sterling's brought down by Laci. Mount's attempted pass through for a teammate is wayward.
65' That's Mount's fourth goal for England. Three of them have been assisted by Kane. Kane's had a direct hand in 18 goals in his last 13 England appearances now. He's so crucial to this England side.
61' Berisha tries a throughball for Uzuni who's offside.
58' Berisha races out of his goal to smother the ball as Sterling looks to race onto it. Hysaj's subtle tug on Sterling makes Berisha's job earlier.
56' Sterling earns another England corner as Djimsiti slides in. The corner hits the knee of Kane at the near post and goes out for an Albania goal-kick. Albania are preparing substitutions.
55' England take the corner short and quickly, keeping possession from it. The visitors have upped their tempo greatly since the half-time break.
54' England get a corner as Walker drives into space in Albania's box and cuts back from the byline. Djimsiti is the man who blocks it for Albania.
53' England patiently thread the ball through the middle, eventually finding Walker. Walker's cross from deep is booted away but England will come right back.
52' Stones angles a pass out wide to Shaw who lays off to Mount. Mount sends Sterling through down the left who finds Foden. Berisha tips Foden's low effort onto the left-hand post and out! That was great play from England.
51' England are pressing higher up the pitch now. They seem to have a little more energy early in this second half than they did for most of the first.
49' Broja robs Rice but can't get past Maguire. Pope booms forward for England and Rice gallops onto the second ball to keep it for the visitors.
48' Sterling tries to get the better of Hysaj who does well to keep the ball under control and get Albania out of trouble.
47' Berisha hurls the ball to Albania's right where England appeal for a push on Mount. The referee isn't interested.
45' Albania get the second half going. No changes for either team at half-time.
Kane has scored in each of his last eight away qualifying matches now, the longest ever run by an England player. At this level the England captain is a cut above his opponents. Kane's goal will have settled England's nerves but they still need to be careful in the second half with Uzuni giving them a scare early on.
Kane's downward header is the difference at the break between Albania and England. It's his first England goal since November 2019. England were sluggish for most of the first half but started to make their dominance show as half-time approached. Albania have worked hard and have had a few chances but haven't worried Pope too much.
45' HALF-TIME: ALBANIA 0-1 ENGLAND
45' Berisha catches Kane's cross from the right with Phillips waiting to get on the end of it. That'll be all for now.
43' After a slow start England appear to have woken up. The visitors' lead is timely for them as we approach the half-time break.
41' England almost make it 2-0! Sterling checks onto his right foot to cross from the left and Kane is loitering at the far post. Memolla has no clue that Kane's there and Kane smacks the ball against the crossbar. It should have been a goal.
40' Kane has now scored at 17 different stadiums while playing for England. Only Wayne Rooney (27) and Michael Owen (25) have scored at more. Kane's a man who enjoys his travels.
37' England are looking very predictable. Albania are successfully holding the visitors at arm's length at the moment.
35' Broja scampers down the right to try to latch onto a ball down the line. The midfielder's unable to stop it from going out for an England goal-kick.
34' England circulate the ball from left to right and Albania intercept. Rice trips over Cikalleshi and concedes the free-kick.
33' That Walker shot was the first shot on target in this match. It hasn't been a classic so far, it's fair to say.
32' Maguire is fouled by Broja in England's half. Walker goes for goal from distance and it bounces through to Berisha. That's England's best scoring opportunity so far, which says a lot.
30' Djimsiti clears Stones' direct ball into the box. Foden and Mount are occupying similar space on the right at the moment, making things a little congested for England.
29' Sterling, who's on the left for now, gets a little nibble from Hysaj and earns a free-kick. Foden swings it in and Albania see it away.
28' Foden has been England's brightest spark so far. The midfielder fires across goal from the right. Ismajli makes sure to get rid.
27' Djimsiti reads Shaw's ball in well and stops Sterling from reaching it. That's good defending by the Atalanta defender.
26' Rice has completed all 35 of his passes so far. It's not helping England much at the moment though as they're mostly in safe areas of the pitch.
24' We're halfway through the first half and the best chance so far has gone to Albania. Ismajli has a shot from outside the box blocked and a rogue clearance by Pope goes out for an Albania throw-in. Pope is less comfortable with the ball at his feet than England's usual goalkeeper Pickford.
22' Kane slams the free-kick into the wall. Albania get a free-kick of their own due to some England jostling anyway.
20' Foden picks up possession in an inside-right position and passes to Mount who gets crunched by Ismajli and Bare. England have a free-kick just inside the D.
18' England are trying to pass through Albania but the hosts aren't giving them any space. Foden fires the ball into the penalty area looking for Kane. It's quickly cleared.
16' Maguire gets hassled by Uzuni and is awarded the free-kick. Albania are doing a decent job of frustrating England so far.
14' England get their third corner of the game down their right. Kane meets it and the ball trickles wide of the right-hand post. The whistle blows for an England foul in the box though.
13' Albania deal with the corner and look to counter. Uzuni approaches the D and lets fly but his shot goes sailing over the crossbar. That's a warning for England.
11' Foden tries to race in behind Ismajli, pressuring the defender into a header that Berisha can't keep in play. It'll be another England corner.
9' Foden takes the corner, sending it towards the far post. Stones flies in to meet it but can't keep his header down.
8' Foden takes the ball down on the left, plays a one-two with Shaw and crosses in towards Mount. England get their first corner of the game out of it.
7' Phillips draws a foul from Bare near the centre circle. Albania are sitting deep until England approach the halfway line, at which point they pounce.
5' It looks as though Foden will play on the left flank and Sterling on the right for England for now. Albania are playing a 3-5-2. Foden loses possession to Cikalleshi who himself loses his footing. England quickly get the ball back.
3' England get themselves comfortable on the ball with Albania remaining patient. Sterling drifts inside from the right and looks to play a pass to Phillips. Memolla is there to intercept.
1' Shaw bustles down the left in an attempt to create a crossing opportunity. The ball gets played off him for an Albania goal-kick.
1' England get this World Cup qualifying match underway!
The two teams are out on the pitch in Tirana. England's players drone through God Save The Queen. Albania sing Himni i Flamurit with a little more gusto.
England have won all four of their previous matches against Albania, with all four of those games coming in the qualifiers for the 1990 and 2002 World Cups. Albania have come on leaps and bounds since then though. They have the potential to make life difficult for England today.
Albania make five changes from their 1-0 win in Andorra. Their centre-back Kumbulla is missing after sustaining a knee injury. There are six changes to England from their dismissal of San Marino. Their captain Kane comes in.
SUBS: Sam Johnstone, Dean Henderson, Jude Bellingham, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Reece James, James Ward-Prowse, Jesse Lingard, Ben Chilwell, Tyrone Mings, Kieran Trippier, Ollie Watkins, Conor Coady.
ENGLAND (4-3-3): Nick Pope; Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw; Mason Mount, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice; Phil Foden, Harry Kane (c), Raheem Sterling.
SUBS: Ledian Memushaj, Erion Hoxhallari, Ylber Ramadani, Arlind Ajeti, Thomas Strakosha, Gentian Selmani, Rey Manaj, Klaus Gjasula, Florian Kamberi, Sherif Kallaku, Ermir Lenjani, Albi Doka.
ALBANIA (4-3-3): Etrit Berisha (c); Elseid Hysaj, Ardian Ismajli, Berat Djimsiti, Frederic Veseli; Qazim Laci, Keidi Bare, Hysen Memolla; Myrto Uzuni, Sokol Cikalleshi, Armando Broja.
England are also looking to make it two wins from two after comfortably seeing off San Marino 5-0 at Wembley a few days ago. Gareth Southgate's side are still favourites to win here - England last lost away from home in a World Cup qualifier way back in 2009 to Ukraine - but this game is by no means a walkover.
It's 20 years to the day since England last played away at Albania, winning 3-1 in Tirana in March 2001. Albania have grown in recent years though. Edoardo Reja's team have won their last four consecutive matches and are looking to start their World Cup qualifying campaign with two wins after beating Andorra 1-0 last time out.
Hello! Welcome to our live text commentary of this 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA group I match between Albania and England at Air Albania Stadium, Tirana.
