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The Three Lions are looking to extend their lead at the top of World Cup qualifying Group K
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England face Andorra in their fourth match of the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, with the Three Lions looking to extend their lead at the top of Group K.
Thomas Tuchel’s side have won each of their three qualifying matches so far, beating Albania and Latvia at home before labouring to a narrow 1-0 win over Andorra in Barcelona in June.
And they welcome the minnows to Villa Park knowing that only a commanding win will do, with a 3-1 loss to Senegal last time out raising some questions about the direction of the team less than a year before the World Cup gets underway.
The squad has faced some injury withdrawals and there are some notable absentees, but this will give Tuchel a chance to experiment further as he moulds his team and begins to decide on the members of the squad for next year’s tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Follow the latest team news and updates from Villa Park below:
Thomas Tuchel says he will start a team he ‘trusts’ against Andorra this evening as preparations for next year’s World Cup ramp up.
The head coach explained: “It’s World Cup season. We have a condensed period of three camps, the competition is on and that means we will start with a team that we trust and with the best team possible for this game and then we will manage the second game.
“We will not do it backwards and manage theoretically, a more difficult away game than a home game. We will not start getting caught up in experiments like this. We do our assessment after the match and see who’s available.
“The players will start anyway to play two matches a week and three matches a week after international camp, so I don’t see a problem why they cannot start one week earlier and play Saturday, Tuesday.”
Thomas Tuchel explained that John Stones withdrew from the England squad on Friday with minor muscle issues.
The decision was made not to frustrate the injury niggles any further and Stones has gone back to Manchester City.
“Unfortunately, John Stones just left,” Tuchel said at a press conference yesterday.
“He came with minor issues – muscle issues – to camp and didn’t progress as we thought and hoped he would, so he left camp this morning because we will not take the risk up against Andorra and also unfortunately, not against Serbia.”
Thomas Tuchel has confirmed defender John Stones has withdrawn from the England squad through injury.
The 31-year-old was selected for this month’s World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.
Stones has not added to his 83 caps since last October and his first camp under Tuchel has come to a premature end.
England have won all seven of their matches against Andorra without conceding a single goal.
They’ve only faced Luxembourg (9/9) and San Marino (8/8) more often while winning every single game.
Will the Three Lions triumph again this afternoon?
Since Thomas Tuchel took over as England head coach there is a slight perception that the team isn’t progressing as fluidly as they’d like.
It’s an opinion not shared by Tuchel who was asked his thoughts on the team’s development ahead of this game.
He said: “I’m happy with where I am at the moment. There was a lot of learning for us and for me personally in the first two camps. It’s never about what you did, it’s always about what you do in the moment and then to go forward and progress and get better.
“I’m happy where I am and I’m happy where the team is. We can feel it that it’s a change of attitude if you finally arrive in the World Cup season.”
Today’s game will be England’s fourth World Cup qualifier during this campaign.
They have won their previous three.
The first was a 2-0 victory over Albania at Wembley with Myles Lewis-Skelly and Harry Kane getting on the scoresheet.
The second was a simple 3-0 triumph over Latvia with Kane scoring again this time aided by Reece James and Eberechi Eze.
Their third win was against Andorra away from home at the beginning of June. A long season seemingly took its toll on Thomas Tuchel’s men though Kane managed to find the net again to ensure a 1-0 win.
Djed Spence doesn’t write down the names of his critics in a little black book, but he certainly remembers them. “I have a mental note of people who doubted me,” he says, “and it does feel good to prove them wrong.”
Like his former manager at Middlesbrough, Neil Warnock, who publicly criticised his commitment and said he’d end up playing in non-league. Spence later tweeted Warnock with that famous picture of himself smoking a cigar as he celebrated promotion to the Premier League with Nottingham Forest.
Or Antonio Conte, who declared Spence was not a signing he personally sanctioned when Tottenham recruited the full-back in a £12.5m deal, and called him an “investment by the club”. The words stung.
Viewers in the UK can watch the match on ITV1 and ITVX, with coverage starting at 4pm BST.
England’s World Cup qualifier against Andorra kicks off at 5pm BST on Saturday 6 September at Villa Park in Birmingham.
England XI: Pickford; James, Guehi, Konsa, Lewis-Skelly; Anderson, Rice; Madueke, Eze, Gordon; Kane.
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