Captain Harry Kane scored the only goal as a lacklustre England laboured to a 1-0 victory over Andorra on Saturday, maintaining their 100% start to the World Cup qualifying campaign.
On a sultry afternoon in Barcelona, where the match was held, Kane’s scrambled second-half effort was all that separated Thomas Tuchel’s side from an opponent ranked 173rd in the world. The uninspiring performance raised questions despite securing a third consecutive win in Group K.
As anticipated, England dominated possession but struggled to create clear-cut chances, with Chelsea winger Noni Madueke being one of the few players to impress.
“It wasn’t a great performance and I don’t think many people will remember this one,” Kane, whose goal was the 450th of his senior career for club and country, told ITV Sport. “It was a dry pitch, similar to next year at the World Cup so we will go away and analyse it. We weren’t good enough on the ball but we take the three points and move on.”
England’s best opportunity of a pedestrian first half fell to Kane, who shot wide from close range following good work from Madueke and Curtis Jones. Madueke also tested Andorra goalkeeper Iker Alvarez with a curling shot.
The breakthrough finally came in the 50th minute. After Kane’s initial shot was saved, Madueke reacted quickly to return the rebound to his captain, who stabbed the ball high into the net. Contrary to previous encounters where England had scored 25 goals without reply in six games against Andorra, there was no sign of the floodgates opening after the goal. Andorra even created a late chance to equalise, with substitute Guillaume Lopez being denied by a crucial block from Ezri Konsa.
While Tuchel becomes the first England manager to win his first three games without conceding a goal, he offered a candid assessment of the display.
“We are not happy of course,” he said. “We lost the momentum completely after the first 25 minutes and couldn’t get it back. We ended up in a period that wasn’t good enough with a lack of urgency and a lack of quality and a lack of energy.”
Despite the tepid performance, the victory solidifies England’s position at the top of their qualifying group as they continue their preparations for next year’s World Cup.
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