Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers match.
England have made an ideal start to their World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign, indicating that the squad may progress through the group stage without dropping a single point. Even with a rotated line-up, they are expected to dominate possession from the outset against Andorra.
Andorra
Back in March, Andorra endured a tough opening to their qualifying run, suffering defeats to Latvia (0:1) and Albania (0:3), extending their goalless streak to four consecutive matches. In Tirana, the team attempted a tightly organised defensive setup, but it failed to produce any meaningful resistance — as illustrated by the 0-15 shot deficit and 1.47 xGA. As the clear underdogs in the group, they may once again adopt a deep-lying 4-5-1 formation, though this is unlikely to offer much protection against one of the tournament’s leading contenders.
England
The Football Association have underlined their intent by appointing Thomas Tuchel as head coach with a clear objective: to meticulously prepare England for the World Cup by establishing robust tactical cohesion. Matches against lower-ranked sides in qualifying are being treated as valuable opportunities to develop squad chemistry. In the spring, England secured victories over Albania (2:0) and Latvia (3:0), producing a combined expected goals tally of 5.11 xG across both matches. They are currently enjoying a five-match winning run, during which they have scored 16 times.
Andorra vs England Prediction
During the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, England scored nine goals against Andorra across two games (4:0 and 5:0). On this occasion, they are again expected to surpass the handicap of -3.5.