Harry Kane rescued England’s delight with a second-half winner, securing a lackluster 1-0 victory over minnows Andorra in Saturday’s World Cup qualifier in Barcelona.
Thomas Tuchel’s aspect was booed by their very own followers on the RCDE Stadium after a uninteresting efficiency in opposition to the world’s 173rd-ranked crew.
Kane’s 72nd worldwide objective spared England the embarrassment of dropping factors to such lowly opposition.
Tuchel grew to become the primary England supervisor to win his first three aggressive matches with out conceding a objective.
But with Andorra, Latvia and Albania providing little problem in Group Okay, that stat feels hole after this uninspiring show.
Tuchel had warned that England’s drained stars shouldn’t be anticipated to thrash Andorra after grueling home seasons.
The German cited the motivational difficulties posed by the summer time worldwide break, simply earlier than 9 of his gamers jet off to the Club World Cup within the United States.
His fears proved prescient as England labored to ascertain any rhythm in a soporific match with the texture of a preseason pleasant.
It was a far cry from the pulsating drama produced by Spain and France of their current Nations League semifinal, underlining the duty going through Tuchel as he builds towards the 2026 World Cup.
Tuchel didn’t assist England’s trigger by fielding an experimental aspect.
Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones began at right-back, and Chelsea right-back Reece James featured at left-back.
With Declan Rice rested, Ajax midfielder Jordan Henderson, 34, made his first England begin since 2023, turning into the Three Lions’ oldest participant since Frank Lampard 11 years in the past.
Arsenal ahead Bukayo Saka was ignored after solely finishing one coaching session this week, leaving Noni Madueke, Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer to line up behind striker Harry Kane.
Bereft of concepts
Chelsea winger Madueke impressed however Palmer and Rogers had been underwhelming.
Andorra hadn’t scored a world objective for greater than two years, and so they rapidly settled right into a defensive formation that allowed England to monopolize possession.
As Tuchel had predicted, England didn’t discover it simple to prise open a massed Andorra protection that includes 9 males behind the ball always.
Madueke’s drive from the sting of the realm was pushed away by Andorra keeper Iker Álvarez.
Kane ought to have damaged the impasse with a close-range likelihood from Jones’ cutback, however the England captain prodded wastefully extensive.
Biel Borra fired over from distance in a uncommon Andorran enterprise into the England half, which ranked as an enchancment on a defeat with out mustering a single shot in opposition to Albania in March.
Given Tuchel’s want to see his gamers carry out within the heat Catalan temperatures forward of the World Cup within the United States, Mexico and Canada, it was instructive to see England wrestle to seek out the power and objective required to make Andorra uncomfortable.
They moved the ball too slowly and had been diminished to hopeful efforts from distance, with Jude Bellingham’s 25-yard shot comfortably saved by Álvarez.
By the time Bellingham’s header did not beat Álvarez on the stroke of halftime, England regarded bereft of concepts and the followers had been starting to grouse.
Kane eased the mounting strain when the Bayern Munich striker made the breakthrough 5 minutes after the interval.
After Kane’s preliminary shot was saved, Madueke alertly guided a low cross again into the six-yard field for the England captain to faucet into the empty internet.
It was a modest method to attain a milestone for Kane, who has a exceptional 450 profession objectives for membership and nation in 697 video games.
England nonetheless couldn’t discover any momentum and had been almost punished within the closing levels when Guillaume Lopez’s shot was blocked by Ezri Konsa.
Source: www.dailysabah.com