World Cup Qual.: Andorra vs England

This one is an obvious mismatch, but the way England has been playing recently this may be an overstatement. England is looking to open these qualifications strongly and prove that missing out on a EURO was just case of bad luck. This will be Capello’s first competitive game in charge, and he will be very motivated to start with a convincing win. This should not be too difficult as they will face one of the weakest nations in Europe, Andorra, the country of only 66 000 inhabitants. England players will probably have in mind the game with Croatia just four days later, but Capello will make sure they take this game seriously.

The minors will try everything

Andorra is one of the smallest countries to take part in the World Cup qualifying. The country is situated between France and Spain, and has just 66,000 inhabitants. Andorra became a member of FIFA in 1996. Since then the team took part in five qualifying campaigns for big competitions but had little success. In the EURO 2004 qualifications, the team tasted victory for the first time in the official match, by beating Macedonia 2:1. The nation hopes to continue progressing, and to come as close to other European countries as possible. The hosts have already played England in the EURO 2008 qualifications, and lost both games. They lost 3:0 at home, and 5:0 away. This game will be another learning experience for the small football country.

Capello to rebuild confidence

The proud football nation has been struggling to make impact at the big stage. Until last year, England easily qualified for the big tournaments, but couldn’t repeat the performances in the final stages. Last year they went one step backwards by not reaching the EURO. The alarm bells were on and the FA brought Fabio Capello in charge to restore the lost confidence and lead the country to the next World Cup. After five friendly games the qualifiers start against Andorra, with the game against Croatia just four days after that. The main job of the new manager is to restore the lost confidence to the players and make them play for England as they play for their teams. He will not be able to count on Gerrard, Carrick, Richards and Hargreaves because of injuries, while Owen is also out due to lack of fitness. Beckham and Heskey are still in the squad, while Crouch is again overlooked. Jimmy Bullard has been a surprise call-up, and this is a reward for his good performances after coming back from a difficult injury.

Betting verdict

This game will be played at the Olympic stadium in Barcelona, where Andorra play their home games. The minors have already started these qualifiers with a loss in away game to Kazakhstan. Two years ago this same fixture ended with England winning 3:0. The hosts will definitely defend in numbers and try not to concede too many times. England will be motivated to show doubters they are good enough, and will try to win big. They will however be thinking about the game with Croatia, four days later, and might not put too much effort into this game. Anyway we expect big win and recommend betting on away win with -3 European handicap.

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