Match preview for England v Andorra
England head into tomorrow’s World Cup qualifier against Andorra in a no-win position. A resounding win will be met with a shrug of the shoulders as ‘it’s only Andorra’ and any other result will bring widespread criticism.
Thomas Tuchel found that out in the reverse fixture when his side toiled for large parts of the game in Barcelona before Harry Kane poked home the only goal.
England under Tuchel have yet to fire. Wins over Andorra, Latvia and Albania have been laboured rather than impressive while a much-changed team put in an alarmingly poor display in losing 3-1 to Senegal at the City Ground in June.
There is little need to panic, yet. England will qualify and then the true test of Tuchel will begin in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
We will learn little tomorrow but there ought to be more gained from Tuesday’s trip to Serbia in what is likely to be England’s hardest game in the group.
Six points over the next few days would represent a giant step towards qualification while four would be more than satisfactory.
Tuchel is not expecting either Andorra or Serbia to play expansive football, predicting both fixtures could be wars of attrition.
The German said: “In sport it is not about what you have done yesterday but about what you do tomorrow to get better and so I expect a good training session from the players to be ready for tomorrow.
“We will face – in both matches – a deep block and a 5-4-1 for sure in the first match and it is the challenge to overcome that quickly and aggressively and play with more rhythm than we did in the first match [against Andorra].”
It is a much-changed England squad with John Stones the latest to pull out through injury, joining the likes of Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer on the sidelines.
Tuchel remains confident his side can put on an improved showing, however.
“It has been an excellent camp until now and I could not be happier with the engagement, the quality, the awareness and how the group is together,” he said. “Hopefully now we have another top training session later today and we can prove the point to you [the media] and the fans can see what I see on a daily basis.”
It is difficult to understand what Andorra gain from matches like this other than their players getting to experience a full house at Villa Park.
Koldo Alvarez’s side have played four, lost four in Group K and have yet to score.
Team News for England v Andorra
Tuchel has vowed to go full strength, dismissing any thoughts of keeping the likes of Kane, Declan Rice and Jordan Pickford fresh for Tuesday’s game in Belgrade.
But it’s hard to imagine any of his big-hitters over-exerting themselves and you can expect plenty of changes throughout the game.
Elliot Anderson could be handed a start after impressing for the Under-21s as they retained the European Championship title this summer.
Andorra will be captained by 43-year-old Marc Pujol, who is set to win his 123rd cap.
Predicted line-ups for England v Andorra
England: Pickford; James, Guehi, Burn, Lewis-Skelly; Rice, Anderson, Madueke, Eze, Gordon; Kane
Andorra: Alvarez; Borra, Olivera, Llovera, San Nicolas, M. Garcia; Pujol, M. Vales, M. Rebes, Cervos; R. Fernandez
How to watch England v Andorra: TV and online streams
England versus Andorra kicks-off tomorrow at 5pm UK time. It is being shown live on ITV1 with coverage starting at 4pm.
It can be streamed on the ITVX app.
