England fringe feast on Albania

England B 3-1 Albania

Class tells
Senior men Alan Smith and Stewart Downing scored the England goals, with the Manchester United FC and Middlesbrough FC players on target on 34 and 37 minutes respectively, before Albania's Besart Berisha reduced the deficit close to half-time. Downing then made sure of the win with his second strike on 58 minutes.

Owen return
If Albania coach Otto Barić was grateful for the match practice ahead of UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifiers home and away to Luxembourg next month, for England boss Steve McClaren this was a chance to see his fringe players in action. While Smith and Downing among others stated their claims, Michael Owen also completed the 90 minutes on his first appearance in an England shirt since last summer's FIFA World Cup.