Andorra 0-5 England: Tammy Abraham & Jack Grealish on target for Three Lions

3 years ago 102
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Tammy AbrahamRoma forward Tammy Abraham marked his first England start in four years with a goal against Andorra

England took another step towards confirming qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with a predictably easy victory in Andorra.

Gareth Southgate's side dropped their first points in qualifying when they drew in Poland in their last game but there was no threat of anything other than a very comfortable win against the country ranked 156th in the Fifa rankings.

England rested big guns such as captain Harry Kane but, with Phil Foden outstanding, they had far too much for Andorra and quickly established their superiority.

Foden played in Jadon Sancho to set up Ben Chilwell for his first England goal after 17 minutes, then the Manchester City youngster delivered the perfect pass for Arsenal's Bukayo Saka to add a second five minutes before the break.

Tammy Abraham was desperate to get on the scoresheet after his good form with Roma won him a recall, then a start with Kane on the bench and Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin injured, and he was on the mark when he stole on to Sancho's cross to score on the hour.

James Ward-Prowse added England's fourth late on, scoring from a rebound after his penalty was saved by Andorra keeper Josep Gomes, before Jack Grealish produced a solo effort for his first international goal from England keeper Sam Johnstone's superb throw.

England stars stake their claim

The opposition may have been Andorra - nestling between New Caledonia and the Dominican Republic in those Fifa rankings - but there was no disguising the sheer quality of Foden.

The 21-year-old was magnificent in Manchester City's 2-2 draw at Liverpool and, playing in a slightly withdrawn role, was the game's outstanding performer in Andorra.

In the first half, in particular, Foden was in majestic form as he effortlessly picked out team-mates with passes of the highest quality, contributing to England's first two goals.

It was a good night for the returning Abraham, who has been rejuvenated since joining Jose Mourinho in Rome. He had a frustrating time initially as he could not quite get on the end of things but he showed persistence, awareness and the poacher's instinct for his goal.

Sancho was another who made his mark, although he picked up a silly booking for kicking the ball away. The forward - who has made a low-key start following his £73m move to Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund - was positive, always willing to take defenders on and helped set up England's first and third goals.

The added bonus came when Grealish, who has been asked to deliver England goals by Southgate, did just that when he latched on to Johnstone's delivery and ran at the Andorra defence before tucking a low shot past Gomes.

England's qualification for Qatar is a formality, as was this win that stretched their unbeaten record in World Cup qualifiers to 28 games, but this was a job very professionally done against an Andorra side that offered little other than game defence.

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Andorra

  1. Squad number1Player nameJosep Gomes

  2. Squad number18Player nameChus Rubio

  3. Squad number22Player nameChristian Garcia

  4. Squad number3Player nameMarc Vales

  5. Squad number20Player nameMax Llovera

  6. Squad number21Player nameMarc García

  7. Squad number2Player nameCristian Martínez

  8. Squad number4Player nameMarc Rebés

  9. Squad number8Player nameXavier Vieira

  10. Squad number23Player nameJordi Rubio

  11. Squad number9Player nameAarón Sánchez

  1. Squad number5Player nameEmili García

  2. Squad number6Player nameIldefons Lima

  3. Squad number14Player nameJordi Aláez

  4. Squad number17Player nameJoan Cervós

  5. Squad number19Player nameCucu

England

  1. Squad number1Player nameJohnstone

  2. Squad number2Player nameTrippier

  3. Squad number5Player nameStones

  4. Squad number6Player nameCoady

  5. Squad number3Player nameChilwell

  6. Squad number10Player nameLingard

  7. Squad number4Player nameWard-Prowse

  8. Squad number8Player nameFoden

  9. Squad number7Player nameSaka

  10. Squad number9Player nameAbraham

  11. Squad number11Player nameSancho

  1. Squad number15Player nameTomori

  2. Squad number19Player nameMount

  3. Squad number21Player nameGrealish

  4. Squad number23Player nameWatkins

Line-ups

Andorra

Formation 5-4-1

  • 1Gomes Moreira
  • 18Rubio Gómez
  • 22Garcia GonzalezSubstituted forLima Solàat 31'minutesSubstituted forGarcía Miramontesat 63'minutes
  • 3Vales Carus
  • 20Llovera González–Adrio
  • 21García Renom
  • 2Martínez AlejoBooked at 42minsSubstituted forAláez Peñaat 64'minutes
  • 4Rebés RuizBooked at 55mins
  • 8Vieira de Vasconcelos
  • 23Rubio GómezSubstituted forCervós Moroat 82'minutes
  • 9Sánchez AlburquerqueSubstituted forFernández Betriuat 64'minutes

Substitutes

  • 5García Miramontes
  • 6Lima Solà
  • 7Pujol Pons
  • 11Moreno Marín
  • 12Álvarez de Eulate Molne
  • 13Pires Costa
  • 14Aláez Peña
  • 16De Pablos Sola
  • 17Cervós Moro
  • 19Fernández Betriu

England

Formation 4-3-3

  • 1Johnstone
  • 2Trippier
  • 5StonesBooked at 42minsSubstituted forTomoriat 60'minutes
  • 6CoadyBooked at 85mins
  • 3Chilwell
  • 10LingardSubstituted forMountat 73'minutes
  • 4Ward-Prowse
  • 8Foden
  • 7Saka
  • 9AbrahamSubstituted forWatkinsat 80'minutes
  • 11SanchoBooked at 45minsSubstituted forGrealishat 73'minutes

Substitutes

  • 12Walker
  • 13Ramsdale
  • 14Henderson
  • 15Tomori
  • 16Mings
  • 17Rice
  • 18Sterling
  • 19Mount
  • 20Kane
  • 21Grealish
  • 22Pickford
  • 23Watkins

Live Text

  1. Match ends, Andorra 0, England 5.

  2. Second Half ends, Andorra 0, England 5.

  3. Hand ball by Cucu (Andorra).

  4. Foul by Ollie Watkins (England).

  5. Marc Vales (Andorra) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  6. Attempt blocked. Ollie Watkins (England) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Mason Mount.

  7. Ben Chilwell (England) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  8. Foul by Jordi Aláez (Andorra).

  9. Attempt blocked. Mason Mount (England) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Phil Foden.

  10. Ollie Watkins (England) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  11. Foul by Marc Vales (Andorra).

  12. Offside, Andorra. Marc Vales tries a through ball, but Cucu is caught offside.

  13. Goal! Andorra 0, England 5. Jack Grealish (England) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Sam Johnstone following a fast break.

  14. Conor Coady (England) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  15. Foul by Conor Coady (England).

  16. Jordi Aláez (Andorra) wins a free kick on the right wing.

  17. Offside, Andorra. Marc Rebés tries a through ball, but Cucu is caught offside.

  18. Substitution, Andorra. Joan Cervós replaces Jordi Rubio.

  19. Offside, England. Phil Foden tries a through ball, but Ben Chilwell is caught offside.

  20. Kieran Trippier (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

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