Kane Secures Tuchel’s Perfect Record

It was far from pretty, but England’s 100% winning record under Thomas Tuchel remains intact after a hard-fought victory against Andorra.

England were made to work for a 0-1 win over Andorra at the RCDE Stadium on Saturday, with Harry Kane’s second-half strike serving to maintain the Three Lions’ 100% record under Thomas Tuchel.

There had been nothing to separate the sides at the break after a laboured first half, in which England had dominated the possession and created a number of shots but had failed to find a way past goalkeeper Iker Álvarez.

England remain at the helm of World Cup Qualifying Group K, and are still yet to concede under Tuchel.

As it happened
A bright start in Cornellà saw Jude Bellingham test Andorra’s Iker Álvarez inside the opening minute – but if England’s travelling fans, who made up the majority of the 10,000-strong crowd at the RCDE Stadium expected the half to continue in that fashion, they’d be left sorely disappointed.

Despite dominating the possession against a nation with a population comparable to that of Scunthorpe, England failed to find an opener before the break and were left frustrated by goalkeeper Álvarez, who had an answer to everything thrown at him including a tame Jude Bellingham header inside the final minute of the half.

But that opener did eventually arrive, five minutes into the second half. Played through on goal by a well-placed Curtis Jones delivery, Harry Kane’s initial effort was parried away by Álvarez – though the England captain was able to smash his 450th career goal into the roof of the net when Noni Madueke swiftly returned the ball back into the box.

Thomas Tuchel’s side improved from that point on, and could have added to their tally on numerous occasions, including when Álvarez was called upon once again to tip an Eberechi Eze header over the crossbar. But Andorra, who are ranked 173rd in the world and haven’t scored a goal in over two years, threatened to restore parity moments later when a blistering counterattack saw substitute striker Guillaume Lopez played through on goal, only for his strike to be blocked by Ezri Konsa.

England have now won all three of their World Cup Qualifying fixtures under Tuchel and sit at the top of Group K. They will face Senegal in a friendly at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground on Tuesday 10 June.

The lineups
AND: Álvarez; Borra, Llovera, Garcia, Olivera, San Nicolás; Rodrigo, Babot, Guillén, Cervós; Fernández

ENG: Pickford; Jones, Konsa, Burn, James; Bellingham, Henderson; Madueke, Palmer, Rogers; Kane.

Fromthespot.co.uk