England continued their 100 percent World Cup qualifying record with a 2-0 win over Andorra at Villa Park, but it didn’t inspire those in attendance, many of whom had departed at full time

England were well below their best in the victory over Andorra
England were well below their best in the victory over Andorra(Image: Getty Images)

Thomas Tuchel admitted England should have scored more goals after the fans voted with their feet at Villa Park. The stadium was half-empty at the final whistle as England laboured to a dull victory over minnows Andorra who are ranked 174th in the world.

England boss Tuchel confessed several of his players were wasteful in front of goal and singled out Arsenal new boy Eberechi Eze who failed to seize his chance. It means England have managed to score just three goals in two games against the World Cup minnows and it was a dull affair in front of a sell-out 39,202 crowd. But Tuchel insisted that England will prove a point in Serbia on Tuesday when they will face arguably their toughest match in Group K.

Tuchel said: “It’s difficult because it’s a very different crowd to a Premier League crowd. I think the energy was right, the quality was there and we should’ve scored more. After the first goal we had 10 or 15 minutes with too many ball losses and lost our focus and concentration but the second half, we found it again and should have scored more.

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“I think we missed the little moments to accelerate the game. Maybe Ebz [Eberechi Eze] didn’t have his best day in the number 10, the last pass from Noni Madueke wasn’t clinical enough and Marcus Rashford had good moments but couldn’t finish them.

“It’s stuff that can happen against a narrow team. The second goal should have come earlier because it gave us a lot of freedom. In general with the effort and attitude I am totally satisfied and it was a much better performance than in June. It would have be deserved to win 4-0 or 5-0.

“We’ve learned a lot and I’m glad for the players. Now we will prove a point in Belgrade against Serbia.”

Thomas Tuchel cut a frustrated figure throughout England’s win over Andorra(Image: 2025 Catherine Ivill – AMA)

But Tuchel was full of praise for debutant Elliot Anderson and said he would not hesitate using the Nottingham Forest midfielder in Serbia in their World Cup qualifier on Tuesday night.

Tuchel added: “Very good, very very good. He was a bit nervous this week but then did good and we said let’s try it and he did it. That was the test and I think he passed the test. Why should he not play in Serbia [on Tuesday]?”

England winger Madueke said: “We won the game, World Cup qualifier, clean sheet and two goals – I am happy. They are tough nuts to crack. When you play against 11 players in 30 metres of space it will be hard for every single team in the world.

“Today was better than the last time we played them, we were more fluid. We should have scored more but overall I am happy with the team’s collective performance.”

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