Declan Rice played a pivotal role as England continued their perfect start to their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign – with West Ham United teammate Jesse Lingard also featuring late on.

Deployed by Gareth Southgate as one of two defensive midfielders against Albania at Arena Kombëtare, Tirana, Rice was influential in ensuring the hosts did not enjoy a single shot on target during the Group I encounter.

The 22-year-old played the full 90 minutes and, according to WhoScored.com, made no fewer than five interceptions and three clearances – both match-high statistics – as well as two tackles and a huge 111 passes, also topping the charts for passing accuracy (97.3 per cent).

Rice also won all three of his aerial duels, enjoyed a game-high 126 touches, and was not dribbled past at any stage, showcasing his full range of defensive and box-to-box qualities as England emerged 2-0 winners on the night.

Indeed, perhaps the only blot on Rice’s copybook was being left hanging by opening goalscorer Harry Kane in the aftermath of the captain’s 38th-minute header – a moment of fun the midfielder himself took to Twitter to acknowledge.

Mason Mount would subsequently cap the win early in the second half with a sweeping finish, before substitute Lingard came off the bench to help the Three Lions see out their advantage for the final 10 minutes.

The result left Rice, Lingard and England with a two-point lead at the top of Group I after two rounds of matches, having beaten San Marino 5-0 at Wembley last Thursday.

Barking and Dagenham Post: England's Jesse Lingard (left) greets Albania's Ledian Memushaj after the final whistle during the FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifying match at the National Arena in Tirana, Albania. Picture date: Sunday March 28, 2021.England's Jesse Lingard (left) greets Albania's Ledian Memushaj after the final whistle during the FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifying match at the National Arena in Tirana, Albania. Picture date: Sunday March 28, 2021. (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

On Wednesday evening, Southgate’s side will host fellow qualification hopefuls Poland, for whom West Ham's Lukasz Fabianski was named on the bench in a straightforward 3-0 win over Andorra at Stadion Wojska Polskiego, Warsaw.

In Group D, Andriy Yarmolenko did not feature in the matchday squad for Ukraine, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Finland in Donetsk.

And in the 2021 UEFA European U21 Championships, Frederik Alves was amongst the substitutes as Denmark U21s all but guaranteed their spot in the quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Iceland in Gyor, Hungary.

Should the Danes pick up a point in their final game against Russia on Wednesday, that will be enough to see them both seal their advancement – and finish of top Group C.