2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying: Andorra vs England

Andorra welcome England to Estadi Nacional as Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions look to boost their qualification hopes in Group I.

Victory would see Andorra stay fifth but potentially move six points clear of last-placed San Marino in Group I, whereas England can extend their lead at the top of the group with a win.

 

Team News

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Andorra have no fresh injury concerns to report with a full squad in contention.

England will be without Reece James after he withdrew from the squad with an ankle injury suffered whilst on club duty for Chelsea last month.

Kalvin Phillips (calf) is also ruled out with Ben Chilwell, James Ward-Prowse and Tammy Abraham all receiving late call-ups, following last week’s initial announcement which saw six players dropped from the squad.

 

Stat Attack

  • Andorra are winless in three previous World Cup Qualifiers against England without scoring (L3).
  • England are unbeaten in two previous visits to Andorra in all competitions, having netted five goals in total across two wins without conceding.
  • Andorra has kept two clean sheets in five home matches across all competitions this year (W1, D1, L3).
  • Harry Kane has scored in all three of England’s World Cup Qualifiers this year.
  • This is the very first senior men’s match involving Andorra and England to be refereed by Ukraine’s Kateryna Monzul.

 

Prediction

Having made life tricky for England in the first half of last month’s clash at Wembley, Andorra will be hoping for more of the same but across the entire 90 minutes this time round because it will be difficult for them to create many opportunities here.

As for England, Southgate faces a difficult selection headache with a fair chunk of his second-choice players who would play this game ruled out, meaning that he could well have to risk some of his best players ahead of Tuesday’s tricky home match against Hungary which isn’t ideal.

One positive though is that his first-team regulars won’t go into that game physically cold because I do feel like England could certainly get the job done in the first half if the likes of Harry Kane and Mason Mount start and are clinical with their chances unlike at Wembley then away in Poland last month.

Prediction: Andorra 0-3 England

Result: Andorra 0-5 England

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