San Marino vs England prediction, preview, team news and more | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers
Monday evening sees England travel to Serravalle to take on San Marino in their final 2022 World Cup qualifier.
England need just one point to secure their spot in Qatar next year, while San Marino will likely be hoping to keep the score down.
Can the hosts frustrate the Three Lions, or will this be as one-sided a game as many fans expect?
San Marino vs England Head-to-Head
It should come as no surprise that San Marino are bottom of this qualifying group and have no hope of making it to Qatar.
The minnows have lost all nine of their games thus far - even falling to fellow strugglers Andorra - and they’ve conceded a shocking 36 goals while scoring just one.
Essentially, it’s unlikely they’ll put any kind of resistance up against England, who have largely strolled through this group and need one more point to guarantee their spot in Qatar.
Gareth Southgate’s men remain unbeaten in this campaign, although some fans were frustrated with their draws against Poland and Hungary.
Most recently, the Three Lions wiped the floor with Albania, scoring five goals before half time to come away with a one-sided win.
Unsurprisingly, the Three Lions have never failed to brush San Marino aside when they’ve met, most recently putting five goals past them when they played at Wembley in March.
San Marino form guide: L-L-L-L-L
England form guide: W-D-W-D-W
From playing on the streets of Thornton Heath to representing @England at the highest level, @emilesmithrowe has received his first England call-up 🦁🦁🦁
#TakeYourChance #ThreeLions twitter.com/England/status…
San Marino vs England Team News
San Marino
David Tomassini is expected to miss the game after being forced off early on in San Marino’s recent loss to Hungary.
Injured: David Tomassini
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
England
Declan Rice will miss out on this game after withdrawing from the squad with illness, while Reece James may also be doubtful after taking a knock against Albania.
Injured: Marcus Rashford, Declan Rice
Doubtful: Reece James
Suspended: None
TAA 😀 https://t.co/8CzNHEAVIG
San Marino vs England Predicted XI
San Marino predicted XI (4-4-2): Elia Benedettini, Manuel Battistini, Filippo Fabbri, Dante Rossi, Andrea Grandoni, Tomasso Zafferani, Enrico Golinucci, Lorenzo Lunadei, Luca Ceccaroli, Nicola Nanni, Adolfo Hirsch
England predicted XI (4-3-3): Aaron Ramsdale, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady, Tyrone Mings, Ben Chilwell, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Emile Smith Rowe, Jack Grealish, Tammy Abraham, Bukayo Saka
San Marino vs England Prediction
There can be little doubt that England will win this game, the only question is by how many goals.
Gareth Southgate is likely to rest most of his key players - he’s got no reason to use them, after all - so we can perhaps expect a slow start.
However, once one goal goes in, it’s likely that we’ll see a rout in favor of the visitors.
Prediction: San Marino 0-7 England