‘Tidy’ - Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa shines as England claim comfortable win over Albania
Ezri Konsa started alongside centre back partner Dan Burn as England claimed a 2-0 win over Albania
The Thomas Tuchel era began with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Albania as the centre-back duo of Aston Villa star Ezri Konsa and Newcastle United’s Dan Burn helped the Three Lions to a clean sheet to send them top of their qualifying group against arguably their second most difficult opponents of their qualifying group.
It was far from a perfect performance from Tuchel’s perspective, who called for ‘more impact’ from Aston Villa wide man Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden from the other flank, but it was on the whole a fairly comfortable display from a defensive perspective as England kept 75% of possession dominated the ball in front of a low block and limited the opposition to just three shots at goal with none of them hitting the target.
Ezri Konsa earns praised for ‘tidy’ performance
Aston Villa stalwart Ezri Konsa, who played three times for England at Euro 2024 while notably impressing against Switzerland in the quarter-final, once again proved he was international standard as he picked up 10th cap for the Three Lions against Albania. Konsa was paired alongside Dan Burn and formed an effective partnership with the Blyth-born defender as England cruised to a routine victory.
When discussing his performance BBC Sport gave him a solid rating of 7/10. The outlet explained: “Very tidy at the back, dealt with the few Albania attacks when called upon and continues to excel at international level. A positive first start under the new manager ahead of the 2026 World Cup.”
Meanwhile, Guardian Sport shared the same view and also gave the Charlton academy graduate a solid 7/10 for his efforts, adding: “A surprise pick over Marc Guéhi. Did not have to do a lot but swept up well. One huge tackle prevented an equaliser.”
England’s biggest threat of conceding in the second half came from Albania substitute Armando Broja. The young forward has struggled with injury this season and has barely featured for Everton since making a loan move from Chelsea. He was one of few players to win an aerial duel against Burn and was at times able to expose the Newcastle defender’s lack of pace.
The same cannot be said for Konsa, who was noted by Mail Sport for saving his team in one key instance during the contest. They commended Tuchel for showing faith in the defender and gave Konsa a 7/10, they said: “Saved a certain goal with a last-ditch tackle in the second half. Big show of faith from Tuchel to give the Villa man the nod ahead of the likes of Marc Guehi, Levi Colwill et al.”
When is the next England game?
England sit top of their qualification group after a victory over Albania and are favourites to keep that strong run going when they play host to Latvia on Monday 24 March.
Ezri Konsa will have high hopes of picking up his 11th England cap in the contest at Wembley Stadium as he looks to build confidence ahead of a return to club action with Aston Villa, with games against Brighton, Preston, Nottingham Forest and most notably a quarter-final with Paris Saint Germain all on the horizon.