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Boring England struggle to beat Andorra after deservedly being booed - talking points
England eventually overcame Andorra as Thomas Tuchel made it three wins from three games as the Three Lions boss avoided a major upset
England made it three wins from Thomas Tuchel’s first three games with victory over Andorra, but it was far from impressive.
The Three Lions made hard work of the world-ranked No.173 outfit to win 1-0 as a lack of creativity and chances saw England held at half-time following a goalless, uninspiring and boring opening 45 minutes in Barcelona.
Tuchel would have felt the pressure at the break and his players would’ve known what sort of reaction would have hit them had they failed to beat Andorra. And just five minutes after the break, the tension was lifted as Harry Kane stabbed the ball home from point-blank range from Noni Madueke’s cross.
Despite the goal, England never kicked on. Eberechi Eze came the closest as he saw a header tipped over the bar. But up the other end, Andorra fired more shots off and cut through with 15 minutes to go, seeing last-man Ezri Konsa have to block a goal-bound effort.
Here, the Daily Star Sport looks at the key talking points from England’s trip to Andorra, or really, Barcelona.
The half-time whistle was met with boos and jeers from the England fans inside the ground. England supporters comfortably made up the majority of spectators in attendance, being seated behind both goals.
And the fans made their frustrations clear, and rightly so. England were slow, and played right into the hands of Andorra. Kane’s strike would’ve felt like a weight lifted off England’s shoulders, and it looked as though the players thought the game was won from that point as they never went through the gears.
Tuchel’s selection
Tuchel raised eyebrows before kick-off with his team selection as he named Jordan Henderson in centre-midfield, as well as handing 33-year-old Dan Burn another start and cap, as it seems age is simply a number to the German.
Bukayo Saka was left out of the squad as he manages a knock he picked up on the final day of the season. Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kyle Walker both started on the bench, with Curtis Jones playing at right-back.
The frustration from the game will linger for some time, and Tuchel’s team selection has only added to that feeling and has brought questions and scrutiny upon himself.
Ahead of kick-off, Tuchel confirmed that Jones would play at right-back with England expecting to dominate the ball, allowing the Liverpool ace the opportunity to step into midfield when in possession.
Jones regularly took up a position inside of Morgan Rogers, who stayed on the right touchline during the build-up.
Jones eventually stepped forward into centre-midfield after Trent Alexander-Arnold replaced Jordan Henderson. The soon-to-be Real Madrid man also played in an advanced role when he came on, something to certainly keep an eye out when England face Senegal on Tuesday.
England’s players have been together for over a week in Barcelona after they attended last Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, a short distance from the RCDE Stadium they played in on Saturday evening.
Taking the team to the F1 was an intriguing team bonding practice from Tuchel, who has clearly been trying to gel this squad in only his second camp.
While relationships between players has improved since the ill-fated days of the Golden Generation. They looked like a group that barely knew each other on the pitch today.
This was the chance to put a marker down after drab wins against Albania and Latvia in Tuchel’s first two games. But this was as bad as realistically possible to conceive.
Daily Star Sunday
England eventually overcame Andorra as Thomas Tuchel made it three wins from three games as the Three Lions boss avoided a major upset
England made it three wins from Thomas Tuchel’s first three games with victory over Andorra, but it was far from impressive.
The Three Lions made hard work of the world-ranked No.173 outfit to win 1-0 as a lack of creativity and chances saw England held at half-time following a goalless, uninspiring and boring opening 45 minutes in Barcelona.
Tuchel would have felt the pressure at the break and his players would’ve known what sort of reaction would have hit them had they failed to beat Andorra. And just five minutes after the break, the tension was lifted as Harry Kane stabbed the ball home from point-blank range from Noni Madueke’s cross.
Despite the goal, England never kicked on. Eberechi Eze came the closest as he saw a header tipped over the bar. But up the other end, Andorra fired more shots off and cut through with 15 minutes to go, seeing last-man Ezri Konsa have to block a goal-bound effort.
Here, the Daily Star Sport looks at the key talking points from England’s trip to Andorra, or really, Barcelona.
The half-time whistle was met with boos and jeers from the England fans inside the ground. England supporters comfortably made up the majority of spectators in attendance, being seated behind both goals.
And the fans made their frustrations clear, and rightly so. England were slow, and played right into the hands of Andorra. Kane’s strike would’ve felt like a weight lifted off England’s shoulders, and it looked as though the players thought the game was won from that point as they never went through the gears.
Tuchel’s selection
Tuchel raised eyebrows before kick-off with his team selection as he named Jordan Henderson in centre-midfield, as well as handing 33-year-old Dan Burn another start and cap, as it seems age is simply a number to the German.
Bukayo Saka was left out of the squad as he manages a knock he picked up on the final day of the season. Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kyle Walker both started on the bench, with Curtis Jones playing at right-back.
The frustration from the game will linger for some time, and Tuchel’s team selection has only added to that feeling and has brought questions and scrutiny upon himself.
Ahead of kick-off, Tuchel confirmed that Jones would play at right-back with England expecting to dominate the ball, allowing the Liverpool ace the opportunity to step into midfield when in possession.
Jones regularly took up a position inside of Morgan Rogers, who stayed on the right touchline during the build-up.
Jones eventually stepped forward into centre-midfield after Trent Alexander-Arnold replaced Jordan Henderson. The soon-to-be Real Madrid man also played in an advanced role when he came on, something to certainly keep an eye out when England face Senegal on Tuesday.
England’s players have been together for over a week in Barcelona after they attended last Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, a short distance from the RCDE Stadium they played in on Saturday evening.
Taking the team to the F1 was an intriguing team bonding practice from Tuchel, who has clearly been trying to gel this squad in only his second camp.
While relationships between players has improved since the ill-fated days of the Golden Generation. They looked like a group that barely knew each other on the pitch today.
This was the chance to put a marker down after drab wins against Albania and Latvia in Tuchel’s first two games. But this was as bad as realistically possible to conceive.
Daily Star Sunday