England extended their 100 percent record on the road to the World Cup but Thomas Tuchel’s side again failed to impress in a laboured 2-0 win against minnows Andorra on Saturday.
Christian Garcia’s first-half own-goal at Villa Park was followed by Declan Rice’s header after the interval as the Group K leaders made it four successive qualifying victories.
But while England remain on course for next year’s World Cup, this was another underwhelming display that raised questions about Tuchel’s ability to produce a trophy-winning team from a gifted generation.
England were efficient but unspectacular, lacking guile and intelligence in the final third.
No wonder Tuchel wore a frustrated expression on the touchline.
Claiming the subdued crowd played a role in the display, Tuchel said: “It’s difficult because it’s a very different crowd to a Premier League crowd.
“After the first goal we had 10 or 15 minutes with too many ball losses and lost our focus and concentration but in the second half, we found it again and should have scored more.”
The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss will want a more purposeful performance in the toughest test of his reign on Tuesday when England face their main Group K rivals Serbia in Belgrade.
With the clock ticking towards the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, Tuchel is under pressure to build a team with a clear identity and sense of purpose.
The evidence from his lacklustre fifth game in charge suggested the German is some way from achieving that goal.
“I think we missed the little moments to accelerate the game. Maybe (Eberechi) Eze didn’t have his best day, the last pass from Noni (Madueke) wasn’t clinical enough and (Marcus) Rashford had good moments but couldn’t finish them,” he said.
“It’s stuff that can happen against a narrow team. We’ve learned a lot and I’m glad for the players. Now we will prove a point in Belgrade.”
England spluttered to a 2-0 win against Albania in his first match in March and were only marginally better in a 3-0 victory over Latvia.
A woeful 1-0 win against Andorra in June was alarming for Tuchel and there was even worse to come as the Three Lions finished their summer schedule with a dismal 3-1 defeat against Senegal in a friendly in Nottingham.
It was a far cry from Tuchel’s bold claim that he wanted his team to chase England’s first major trophy since 1966 with an attacking style that would cast off the caution showed by his predecessor Gareth Southgate.
After using the 35-year-old Jordan Henderson in midfield in England’s last qualifier, Tuchel opted for Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson this time and was rewarded with a composed debut.
In the absence of the injured Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka, Eze started as the most advanced of three central midfielders, while Madueke filled in on the right wing.
It took 15 minutes for Tuchel’s latest experimental line-up to fashion their first shot on target when Eze’s low drive from the edge of the area forced Iker Alvarez to save.
Faced with a side of Andorra’s limitations, England were able to take the lead in the 25th minute without hitting top gear.
Madueke was their most enterprising attacker and the Arsenal winger found space in the area for a cross that Garcia headed into his own net as he tried in vain to clear.
Madueke’s fourth goal involvement in eight internationals ensured England did not suffer the indignity of being shut out in the first half by Andorra for a second successive game.
After their rather prosaic first half, England were slightly more dynamic at the start of the second.
Anderson was denied a debut goal as Alvarez brilliantly clawed away the midfielder’s scooped effort.
England’s territorial dominance finally brought a second goal in the 67th minute.
Showing why Tuchel surprisingly preferred him at right-back to Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James whipped a pin-point cross into the six-yard box for Rice to glance his header past Alvarez.
© Agence France-Presse
Photo:Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
