England win every group game without conceding after Kane’s double sinks Albania

For Thomas Tuchel, there was an unmistakable circularity, a pleasingness to the narrative arc. The England head coach began his tenure with a World Cup qualifying victory against Albania at Wembley last March. And he finished the first phase of the mission to add a second star to the shirt with another one – by the same scoreline in Tirana.

It is surely worth taking a moment to digest the headline numbers. This was England’s eighth qualifying win out of eight games and an eighth clean sheet. Never before has a European team gone through World Cup qualification – playing at least six matches – without letting in a goal. It is a record to fire hope, which has sent out a message.