Andorra 0-5 England: 5 talking points as five-star Three Lions cruise to victory | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers
Five different men got on the scoresheet for England as they made light work of Andorra in a 5-0 victory in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier. Gareth Southgate named a heavily rotated side, with regulars like Harry Kane, Jordan Pickford and Raheem Sterling all left out of the starting lineup.
England started the game in dominant fashion, and broke the deadlock in the 17th minute. A lofted ball by Phil Foden was brought down excellently by Jadon Sancho, who teed up Ben Chilwell in the area. The Chelsea man made no mistake from 12 yards out. But his celebration was cut short by Ukrainian referee Kateryna Monzul who flagged him for offside.
VAR replays, though, showed that the Manchester United man was onside in the build-up, and the goal was rightly given. England doubled their lead five minutes before half-time, scoring a similar goal as their first.
Another lofted pass into the area found Bukayo Saka in space, and the 20-year-old made no mistake to score his second goal of the qualifiers. But Andorra goalkeeper Josep Gomes would have been disappointed to get beaten at his near post.
The second half was more of the same in terms of England dominating possession and the game. It was practically one-way traffic, with England asking all the questions in attack. They scored a deserved third when Jadon Sancho's cross into the area was converted on the stretch by Tammy Abraham for his second international goal.
Jack Grealish had an eventful 18-minute cameo after coming on for Jesse Lingard in the 72nd minute. He won a penalty just six minutes after coming on when he was brought down by Jesus Rubio in the area.
James Ward-Prowse took responsibility from 12 yards, but saw his effort well saved by Gomes. The Southampton man, though, converted the rebound with a left-footed finish to take England four goals up.
A strong display on the road 👊
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Jack Grealish rounded up the scoring in the 86th minute. Sam Johnstone stopped a rare Andorra attack with a comfortable save before launching a quick counterattack with a long throw to Grealish. The Manchester City man embarked on a trademark run at the Andorra defence. He dribbled his way across two Andorra defenders before slotting the ball home.
On that note, here are five talking points from the game:
#5 England strolled their way to victory without hitting top gear
The unbalanced nature of European international football means there are only a handful of matches between teams of comparable strength. As much as football purists like to claim that the game is one where anything can happen, the reality is vastly different.
More often than not, the elite sides steamroll their way over lesser opponents, and the game in Andorra was one such example.
England did not even have to bring out the big guns, and were totally dominant from start to finish. The Three Lions bossed every noteworthy statistic in the game, including possession (85%), shots (17 to 1), shots on target and corner kicks.
Sam Johnstone was practically a spectator in goal, and did not have a single save to make across the 90 minutes.
#4 Jack Grealish and Ben Chilwell break their international ducks
International glory ranks highly in the careers of professional footballers, especially in a country like England with a rich footballing heritage.
Two days usually stand out for players in their international careers, the day they earn their first cap, and the day they score their first goal in national colours.
It was the case of the latter for two England players, with Jack Grealish and Ben Chilwell both scoring for the first time on the international stage.
In the case of Grealish, it has been a long time coming, and most likely the first of many to come. For Chilwell, his standing as a defender means goals would come at a premium. So he will be thankful for the VAR awarding him his goal after it was wrongfully chalked off.