For the runners-up, play-offs await in March, but Southgate will hope England at the very least maintain their four-point cushion in the upcoming October internationals.
England’s first game of the break sees them play at Estadi Nacional in Andorra la Vella on Saturday, before attention switches to Saturday’s meeting with Hungary at Wembley.
Andorra’s sole win in qualifying so far came when they beat San Marino 2-0 at home in September, while they have lost their other five matches in Group I, conceding 14 goals in the process.
England put a heavy dent in Andorra’s goal difference when winning 4-0 at Wembley last month, with Jesse Lingard scoring twice, while Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka were also on target.
Another routine win is expected from England on Saturday, with Andorra yet to score against the Three Lions in five meetings – with the aggregate score 20-0.
That is why England are priced at around 1-50 to win, with Andorra 66-1 and higher with some bookmakers to pull off their biggest ever shock.
Marc Vales: ‘We want to make things difficult for the big guys’
By Richard Edwards
Marc Vales insisted Andorra have every right to be facing England in an interview with i in September.
“Sometimes you see a big, big defeat and you question whether a country should be there or not,” he says. “But football is in all of our blood. It’s about the smallest countries doing big things.
“Look at the example of Luxembourg, they were at the same stage as us but now they are having good results.
“They have already beaten Ireland in qualifying for the World Cup. We are here to fight and make things difficult for the big guys, that’s our challenge.
“We watched England at the European Championships so we now just how big that challenge is. You’ve got some of the best players in the world and they’re all performing well. I could name 20 players! It’s going to be a really tough challenge for us.”
There will therefore be intrigue around the side Southgate fields, particularly with Hungary posing a tougher test on Tuesday.
Tammy Abraham was a late call-up to what is now a 24-man squad, and the Roma striker will be vying with captain Harry Kane and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins for a place up front, while other forward options are Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling.
Elsewhere, Ben Chilwell and James Ward-Prowse replaced the injured Reece James and Kalvin Phillips, while Aaron Ramsdale will hope to earn his first senior cap, and Fikayo Tomori just his second after the AC Milan defender forced his way back into Southgate’s plans.
“He’s playing at a club where there’s an expectation to win every week, so he’s performing under pressure,” Southgate said of Tomori last week.
“I like Fikayo in terms of his aggressiveness as a defender. Because he’s got speed he’s confident enough to defend on the front foot and his use of the ball is improving all the time.”
On Arsenal goalkeeper Ramsdale, Southgate added: “Aaron was with us all summer and we had the opportunity to work with him for a long time and get to understand his strengths,” Southgate added
“Nick [Pope] is still I think coming back from injury a little bit, but I think Aaron is just in a better vein of form at the moment.
“From Aaron’s perspective, the move to a bigger club with higher expectations and a style of play where he is asked to build with his feet from the back, he’s coping really well.”
There are also a number of Premier League clubs reportedly concerned with Andorra’s 3G pitch and the fear their players could pick up an injury.
Seven years ago Gareth Bale described the surface as the “worst pitch” he had ever played on when Wales narrowly beat Andorra 2-1.
There could therefore be a few club managers hoping their players sit out the Andorra clash, and though Southgate will not want to take his opponents for granted, this squad is fully capable of recording a sixth win over the principality no matter the starting XI.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2Yo9zAw
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