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England face Andorra in Barcelona today as Thomas Tuchel’s side look to maintain their perfect start to World Cup qualifying.
England are expected to win against a side ranked 173rd in the world by FIFA — but they will have to do so without the injured Bukayo Saka, Conor Gallagher, and Ollie Watkins.
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All of Andorra’s squad play either in their native country or the lower reaches of the Spanish football pyramid, with the exception of Pau Babot, who grew up in Germany and plays in Luxembourg for FC Rodange 91.
Their star player is defender and captain Marc Vales, pictured, who is rapidly approaching 100 international caps. He plies his trade for Atlètic Lleida in the fifth-tier of Spanish football.
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Andorra are ranked 173rd in the world by FIFA — above Grenada and Nepal but directly below Papua New Guinea and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
They sit bottom of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group K, losing their opening match 1-0 at home to Latvia before a 3-0 loss on the road in Albania.
They last won a game back in October 2024, beating San Marino (who sit rock bottom of FIFA’s rankings) 2-0 in a friendly. They last scored a goal against another UEFA team all the way back in June 2023, when they lost 2-1 against Israel.
Matthew B: “England have a decent attack and midfield but the defence seems a bit light. I imagine Archie Gray and Jack Hinshelwood might be used in more defensive roles but you need a solid back line to progress through a tournament.”
Ian W: “It could be an issue that England have only one recognised striker in Jay Stansfield…”
Martin B: “Hoping Ethan Nwaneri has a big tournament which furthers his development at Arsenal.”
Goalkeepers: James Beadle (Brighton & Hove Albion), Teddy Sharman-Lowe (Chelsea), Tommy Simkin (Stoke City).
Defenders: Charlie Cresswell (FC Toulouse), Ronnie Edwards (Southampton), CJ Egan-Riley (Burnley), Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), Brooke Norton-Cuffy (Genoa), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool).
Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jobe Bellingham (Sunderland), Archie Gray (Tottenham Hotspur), Hayden Hackney (Middlesbrough), Jack Hinshelwood (Brighton & Hove Albion), Tyler Morton (Liverpool), Alex Scott (AFC Bournemouth).
Forwards: Harvey Elliott (Liverpool), Omari Hutchinson (Ipswich Town), Samuel Iling-Junior (Aston Villa), James McAtee (Manchester City), Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal), Jonathan Rowe (Marseille), Jay Stansfield (Birmingham City).
England’s U21 side begin their tournament against Czech Republic on Thursday, June 12 before they face Slovenia three days later on Sunday, June 15. They round out the group against Germany on Wednesday, June 18.
Head coach Lee Carsley, who signed a new contract through to 2027 this week, selected a preliminary training squad to begin preparations at St. George’s Park last week, before confirming his final 23 on Friday.
The group will now travel to Slovakia today.
England will attempt to defend their Under-21 European Championship title this summer — but they will be without two important players.
The Athletic reported last month Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton would miss out as he continues to recover from the concussion suffered in the club’s FA Cup final victory against Manchester City.
And Liam Delap, who signed for Chelsea this week in a £30million ($40.6m) deal from relegated Ipswich Town, is expected to play for his new club in the Club World Cup in the United States.
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William P: “A loan deal with Manchester City paying half his wages is his only hope of regular first team football. Very few clubs in world football can afford to pay his wages and they are all set in his best positions.”
Ole P: “Grealish’s decline at Manchester City is very sad and bad news for England.
“But it’s hard to see how he ever returns to playing internationals with the likes of Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham and now Eberechi Eze all firmly ahead of him.”
Remember, you can get involved by emailing live@theathletic.com.
Another player absent today is Jack Grealish. The Manchester City man was left out of the squad entirely and Thomas Tuchel said this week the 29-year-old needs to play regular football if he wants to force his way into his World Cup plans.
Grealish is facing an uncertain future at the club after a frustrating season. He made just seven starts in the Premier League and failed to come off the bench at the recent FA Cup final against Crystal Palace.
He is also set to be excluded from City’s squad for the forthcoming Club World Cup in the United States.
Grealish has been capped 39 times by England but has not featured since the 3-1 Nations League win over Finland in October under interim manager Lee Carsley. He is yet to be called up by new head coach Tuchel.
Tuchel said he had spoken to Grealish before his first international camp in March and again shortly after the Cup final last month. But he left Grealish, 29, in no doubt that he needs consistent game time.
💬 He said: “He needs to make himself available by playing. It’s one of his key strengths. To go every three days and get better and better with every minute he has in his legs. That’s what is missing, nothing else.
“I love Jack for his personality and of course his talent. He is a very unique player who can handle big pressure on the field. He is never shy of pressure. It’s the opposite.
“He grows in big matches, but he’s a player who needs minutes and minutes and minutes and simply does not get them for a very long time. Nothing has changed.”
Atletico Madrid midfielder Conor Gallagher was also left out of the matchday squad submitted to UEFA ahead of today’s game.
Ollie Watkins meanwhile left the England camp on the eve of today’s game with an injury problem. He will also miss next week’s friendly against Senegal.
Bukayo Saka has been left out of today’s matchday squad due to injury.
Thomas Tuchel revealed on Friday that the 23-year-old Arsenal forward was struggling with a problem he picked up in a Premier League win over Southampton.
💬 Tuchel said: “He came into camp with a little bit of discomfort from the last match against Southampton, so we took care of him and treated him individually until (Friday) basically.
“It was the first training session that he started and finished with the group. (Thursday), he started with the group but did not finish with the group, so let's see.
“I'm not sure if we take the risk for the game. The decision has not been taken, but he will be available for the Senegal match, and he plays a major role in our thoughts of how to build a competitive team.”
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Burnley)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid), Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Kyle Walker (AC Milan, loan from Manchester City)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid)*, Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Jordan Henderson (Ajax), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
Forwards: Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)*, Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)*
* Not included in today’s matchday squad
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We’d love to hear your thoughts ahead of today’s game.
How many are you expecting England to win by? Should Thomas Tuchel rotate his squad? And, if he does, who do you want to see given a chance?
Email live@theathletic.com and let us know.
In the United Kingdom the game will be aired on ITV1. A live stream will be available via ITVX.
In the United States you can catch the action on the FOX Sports app.
Today’s game is scheduled to start at 6pm local time.
That’s 5pm BST, 12pm EDT and 9am PDT.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of today’s World Cup qualifier between England and Andorra.
Thomas Tuchel’s side are aiming to maintain their flawless start to qualifying after routine victories against Albania and Latvia.
Today they take on Andorra, who are ranked 173rd in the world by FIFA and are statistically the weakest side in Group K.
Will it be another comfortable victory for England or could Andorra spring one of the greatest upsets in the history of international football?
Stick with us as we begin counting down to kick-off, and don’t forget that you can get involved by emailing live@theathletic.com.