ANDORRA 0-1 ENGLAND: Three Lions captain Harry Kane was the hero for England once more as they secured a slender World Cup qualifying victory in Barcelona on Saturday evening
England have made it three wins in a row under Thomas Tuchel after squeezing past Andorra in Barcelona. The Three Lions endured a difficult opening 45 minutes, as they struggled to find a way through their hosts and were consequently booed off at half-time. But it only took five minutes after the break for the opener as captain Harry Kane stretched to score from Noni Madueke’s cross.
Ahead of the game, England boss Tuchel had confirmed that he had settled on around 16 names for his squad for next summer’s World Cup. So, did anyone bolster their chances – or did any of the Three Lions give themselves even more work to do?
Mirror Football takes a look at three stars who have strengthened their claim for a place in the squad, as well as three who have maybe done their hopes some damage:
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Noni Madueke
Starting on the left, the Chelsea looked the brightest of the England players in what was a frankly miserable opening 45 minutes. He could have scored with an effort from a powerful effort from distance.
Madueke should also have had an assist to his name as he pulled an excellent cross across the face of goal but Harry Kane failed to get on the end of the opportunity.
Madueke continued to be a decent threat in the second half and teed up Kane’s opener, which he lashed home. He should even have got on the scoresheet late on but failed to tap home from a tight angle.
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Reece James
While he did not have the most sparkling performance, James might have seen his hopes bolstered regardless. The Chelsea captain was selected to play at left-back by Tuchel against Andorra and despite it not being his natural position, he did relatively well.
Of course, James is far more productive in his more natural right-sided position but with options limited down the left, he could potentially secure the position ahead of next summer’s World Cup should Tuchel continue with his experiment.
Harry Kane
It’s always a positive to see Harry Kane on the scoresheet for England. Fans will certainly be hoping for a few more of those between now and the World Cup.
It wasn’t the Bayern man at his vintage best but he turned up at exactly the right time to seal the win for England. He’s already a shoe-in for the squad but another strike just makes his vice-like grip on the central striking role even stronger.
Jude Bellingham
There’s no escaping it, away from injury, Jude Bellingham is guaranteed to be in the England squad for the World Cup. On his day, he is the Three Lions’ most-gifted and influential player.
The only problem was, this simply wasn’t his day. Bellingham struggled to get in his groove throughout the game as his attacking influence deserted him.
He had a few half chances but never really looked like scoring. His place in the squad is certainly not in doubt but he will be hoping for more.
Dan Burn
Just his second England cap of his career, the Newcastle defender should have been expecting a relatively easy afternoon. And he might have fallen into that trap against Andorra.
Burn was guity of taking his eye off the ball on a few occasions, leading to some inexplicable inaccurate passes. Of course, he was not the only one of not meeting his usual high standards.
With plenty of competition at centre-back, Burn needs to ensure his performances on the international stage improve if he hopes to go to the World Cup.
Jordan Henderson
Henderson’s return to the England squad under Thomas Tuchel has been a surprise. It was certainly notable to see him back in the starting line-up against Andorra.
To Henderson’s credit, he didn’t do anything particularly wrong against Andorra. In fact, he was on hand to halt what could have been a threatening counter-attack from the hosts in the first-half.
But he didn’t do anything spectacular either. Like Burn, Henderson faces a lot of competition in his position so will need to do a fair bit more over the next year to win England fans over.
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