England beat Andorra 2-0 at Villa Park but faced a tight defence and missed good chances to add to their lead, with Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane blaming the Three Lions for passing too many balls backwards, while Thomas Tuchel praised Elliot Anderson for his debut.
Peter Smith
Pictured: England struggled to create opportunities for captain Harry Kane against Andorra.
Roy Keane has criticised England for reverting to “old methods” and playing “sideways, backwards” during their lacklustre win over Andorra.
An own goal and a second-half header from Declan Rice gave England a 2-0 win at Villa Park to maintain their 100 per cent record in World Cup qualifying. However, the latest win was only a marginal improvement on a poor performance away to Andorra in June.
Before the match, Thomas Tuchel said his team were ready to show the intensity, energy and composure that had been missing in the summer, but after a fast start, England struggled to find a way to break through a well-organised opponent. There were chances for more goals, especially in the second half, but it was not the big step forward that Tuchel had hoped for.
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Sky Sports' Rob Dorsett and Adam Bate analyse England's disappointing 2-0 win over Andorra
England managed just 11 shots from 83 per cent possession.
“The manager didn't look too happy at the end,” Sky Sports pundit Keane told ITV.
“He will be frustrated again in the second half of the season. We set high goals and develop good habits.
“I still think England went back to their old methods today, especially in the second half. Passes sideways, back.
“We saw their two goals, especially the second one, which was just a pass. They need to serve more, not complicate the game. And I still think they back off too much.”
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Thomas Tuchel spoke out after England's 2-0 win over Andorra and said there were areas the team needed to improve but he was not worried about the result.
Tuchel stressed that progress has been made. “I am very positive about the team that is currently in training camp, how they have performed, how they have behaved, how they have trained and how we have played today,” he said at the post-match press conference.
“I am absolutely convinced that we are on the right path and on the right track.”
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Jason Burt has told the Sunday Supplement that Thomas Tuchel made big promises when he was appointed England manager but has yet to deliver on them.
However, he was also openly critical of the performances of strikers Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Marcus Rashford.
“We missed moments that could have sped up the game,” he told ITV. “Abs was probably not the best No 10. He trained so well. He was a little bit lacking in courage in his decision-making.”
“Noni's last pass wasn't cool enough. Rashford had a few good chances but he couldn't finish them off with an assist.
“We should have scored the second goal earlier because the second goal gave us much more freedom.”
'Very strong performance' – Tuchel praises Anderson
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Elliot Anderson was pleased with the way his impressive England debut against Andorra went.
However, Elliot Anderson, who made his debut as a deep-lying midfielder, was praised.
Tuchel identified the position as a problem for England ahead of the game, hinting that centre-back John Stones could be a better option, but he said Anderson had “passed the test” and could continue to play in the attacking role, starting with the away game against Serbia on Tuesday.
Pictured: Anderson impressed on his England debut
“He's just a really, really good player. He's got the physical attributes, he's a very mobile number six, he likes to defend, he likes to put his whole body in front of the basket, he likes to pass, he likes to break through the defensive lines, he's just very mobile in this game, it was a pleasure to watch him,” Tuchel said.
“The start of the week was a bit nervous, which is also good to see, because the boys are not all right. They are still nervous before the start of the training camp, and I am not afraid to admit that they were a bit nervous, but he adapted to the quality very quickly, and then we thought: why not give him the stadium straight away?”
“I think the team around him did everything they could to make it easy for him and he put in a very strong performance.”
Sourse: skysports.com
