England fail to fire against Andorra as Thomas Tuchel's experiment falters

Yahoo

2 days ago

Mixed emotions: Harry Kane scored his 450th career goal against Andorra, but England very much flattered to deceive (The FA via Getty Images)
There are just 369 days until next year's World Cup, but England's performance against Andorra was not one to inspire you with confidence.
Victory always felt inevitable, even when the game was goalless at half-time, however England were lacklustre on their way to a 1-0 win.
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A long season, which isn't over for those heading to the Club World Cup next week, is surely partly to blame. As was the fact that Andorra did a decent enough job of sitting deep and frustrating England.
Ranked 173rd in the world, and with bookmakers putting their chances of victory at 175/1, Andorra were happy to not have the ball. Indeed, in the opening 15 minutes, England had 90 per cent possession.
That was the pattern of the whole game and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford could have got out a deckchair to enjoy the Spanish sun. Andorra, for the second game running, did not muster a single shot on target.
England's own chances, in fairness, were hardly abundant. Noni Madueke drew a good save early on with a shot from outside the box. Harry Kane turned an effort wide from a Curtis Jones cut-back, while a mazy run from Morgan Rogers deserved more than being a highlight reel on social media.
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When the goal came, five minutes after half-time, it was Kane that broke the deadlock. It was the 450th of his career and he won't have scored many easier.
Madueke pounced after Kane's initial effort was saved and the Chelsea winger's cross left the England captain with the goal gaping from just a few yards out.
It was a deserved assist for Madueke, who was a bright spark in an otherwise drab affair. It is difficult for anyone to state their case against a side of Andorra's calibre, but Madueke certainly did his best to leave an impression on Thomas Tuchel.
This was the first time the 23-year-old has been involved under Tuchel, after missing the games in March through injury, and it surely won't be his last appearance.
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Madueke was involved in many of England's best attacking moments and his only misstep was failing to score a golden chance late on.
Tuchel took this World Cup qualifier as an opportunity to experiment because, if you cannot experiment against Andorra, then when can you? Not many of them, however, worked.
Jones started at right-back, although he essentially played as a No10 when England had the ball. At times, he was even further forward than Cole Palmer or Jude Bellingham.
Reece James, on the other flank, tucked in to form a back three and he did, at least, cause a few problems with his passing from deep.
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Jordan Henderson played ahead of the defence, making his first England start since November 2023. Screening the back three was hardly an arduous task for the 34-year-old, who was the oldest male player to start a game for England since Frank Lampard in 2014.
The win for England means they are still top of the of their World Cup qualifying group and it also secured a slice of history for Tuchel. He is the only England manager to win all of his first three competitive games without conceding.
Those victories have come against Albania, Latvia and Andorra - and the far, far tougher tests are to come. On the evidence of this win, England have plenty to work on.