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Andorra vs England live: Result and reaction as Harry Kane goal seals drab England win in World Cup qualifier
England 1-0 Andorra: Thomas Tuchel’s men played out an uninspiring game with Harry Kane’s second-half goal the difference
England returned to World Cup qualifying action with a drab 1-0 win over minnows Andorra, the world’s 173rd-ranked team, in a serviceable but uninspiring performance from Thomas Tuchel’s side.
Noni Madueke was a bright spark for the visitors and was rewarded with an assist for Harry Kane’s 50th-minute opener, latching onto a deflection and laying off a cross into space for the club captain.
It was a 72nd international goal for Kane, but while England had plenty of possession and touches in the opposition box, they were low on quality, with Gordon missing a chance to tap in at close range from a Madueke cut-back in the closing stages of extra time.
Several players will be off to the Club World Cup after this qualifier and the friendly against Senegal that follows, underlining the hectic schedule with which top footballers have to contend, and some exhaustion was evident after a lengthy club season.
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Andorra 0-0 England
8 mins: Plenty of action down England’s right flank at the moment. The ball is squared to Curtis Jones in the box, who takes a shot, but it’s blocked.
Bellingham now dances between two defenders on the right side of the box, taking his time before lobbing in a shot goalwards, but Alvarez collects.
Andorra 0-0 England
5 mins: Andorra are entirely camped out in the ir own box. England win a corner, Bellingham and Madueke pressing nicely.
Palmer floats in a nice high delivery, with a whole host of white shirts in space, but it’s cleared.
Andorra 0-0 England
1 min: As you’d expect, England are seeing all of the possession early doors, although Palmer briefly gives it away with a sloppy pass.
Bellingham has a go from range inside the first minute, but it’s thumped straight at keeper Alvarez.
KICK-OFF: Andorra vs England
Here we go then, on a nice sunny evening in Barcelona.
England get us underway!
Countdown to kickoff
The players are out on the pitch, national anthems playing, and it’s nearly go time in Andorra Spain.
Line-ups
England XI: Pickford, James, Konsa, Burn, Jones, Henderson, Bellingham, Palmer, Rogers, Madueke, Kane
Substitutes: Henderson, Trafford, Walker, Rice, Colwill, Gibbs-White, Gordon, Toney, Eze, Alexander-Arnold, Lewis-Skelly, Chalobah
Andorra XI: Alvarez, Llovera, Garcia, R. Fernandez, Babot, Rodrigo, San Nicolas, Cervos, Guillen, Olivera, Borra
Substitutes: Gomes, Pires, Da Cunha, Vales, Rebes, Alexandre Martinez, Vales, Lopez, De Las Heras, Rubio, Joao Da Silva, Marc Garcia
Tuchel anticipates being 'huge favourites'
“We anticipate a match where we are huge favourites. We accept the role and we want to live up to that role, so we anticipate a match where we have the majority of the ball. We expect a lot of ball possession, we expect to have the ball and we want to put the ball in the opponent’s half.
“The focus will be on the attacking patterns, on our hunger for the reaction after ball losses for counter-pressing – these will be the main topics for tomorrow and this will then guide and demand the tactics. We want to be fully committed to a World Cup qualifier. It feels like we have to fulfil our own expectations,” Tuchel continued.
'Serious and professional' in line-up - Thomas Tuchel
Here’s what Thomas Tuchel had to say ahead of the game, which gave an indication of which way his team selection might go.
“First of all, I think it’s about being serious and being professional and being determined and showing it also in the line-up.
“It will be an offensive line-up and it will be an attacking line-up and it will give us the opportunity to perform and put the game where we want to have the game and get the result that we want to have and then we will see.
“My thoughts are not so much ‘who can we see?’ and ‘what do we try?’ It’s more about the gameplans and who trains well and who feels well and who has the connections and who showed up in a good rhythm after a long season.
“From there, we take in-game decisions that are necessary according to the flow of the game and then we take the decisions in the friendly match.”
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