‘They won – but have turgid England regressed under Tuchel?’

At the conclusion of their victory over Andorra, England’s players completed the formalities of a lap around Villa Park, but the sight of their applause aimed at thousands of empty seats was the brutal measure of this miserable World Cup qualifier.

In situations like this, the visiting team’s tradition is to calm the crowd at home. The most recent underwhelming display delivered by Thomas Tuchel’s side, in a reverse of the cherished strategy, breathed new life into the atmosphere.

With a 2-0 victory over the ranked 174th-ranked team, England now has done so on four occasions since Tuchel’s World Cup qualifying.

England would need a catastrophic collapse to avoid the start of the World Cup in the summer, but Tuchel’s courageous replacement for Sir Gareth Southgate after Euro 2024 has yet to come.

In fact, Tuchel hasn’t yet given England any identity, whose performance has arguably deteriorated rather than improved since Southgate’s departure following Spain’s defeat in the Euro 2024 final.

After 25 minutes, Andorra defender Christian Garcia headed Noni Madueke’s cross past goalkeeper Iker Alvarez into an own goal to break the deadlock. After 67 minutes, Declan Rice fired in the second from Reece James’ excellent delivery.

On these occasions, the usual cautions apply. And they have merit in some ways.

No matter how turgid and uneventful this was, England carried out what they had to do. Another step closer to the World Cup in 2026.

With no time left to spare, Andorra unleashed a rearguard action, setting up a yellow wall of defensive defiance, with England recording 83% possession and the visitors barely moving out of their own half.

Tuchel will be right to point out that England haven’t yet conceded a goal in World Cup qualifying, despite being hardly underpowered.

And it’s long gone from scoring eight or nine goals against rivals in international football.

In the world rankings, Andorra, which is sandwiched between St Vincent and the Grenadines and Chad, will consider a two-goal defeat as morally superior.

Elliot Anderson, one of the brighter performers in this subpar England effort, made his debut under Tuchel.

Marcus Rashford, who was on loan from Manchester United from Barcelona, faded after the odd early flourish while Eberechi Eze was kept on the margins and captain Harry Kane struggled.

Although Tuchel insists Rashford is a left-winger, he initially lost his self-assurance and started to fade as the game progressed. On Tuesday, Tuchel might have to look for alternatives in Belgrade.

The most difficult challenge of Tuchel’s rule will be presented by Serbia in those harsher settings. Tuchel’s new England will face a real test, and they must do better.

There was little action in this film that was necessary for more urgency and aggression.

Shots dropped from 20 to 11, and big chances fell to six to four. Expected goals dropped from four to four goals, while the opposition box touches decreased from 52 to 41.

Although England’s initial plan was to move the ball forward more quickly, the overall percentage of forward passes was 23% higher than the team’s vs. Andorra game’s.

Tuchel insists that England is making progress. If they are, they move at a snail’s pace.

The head coach of England, Anderson, was delighted with his debut, but there are areas where he wants to improve.

Tuchel remarked, “I believe we missed some small opportunities to quicken the game.” Eberechi Eze may not have had the best day possible when he was at number 10. He did a lot of his training, but he had some issues with his decision-making.

Noni Madueke’s final pass was insufficiently clinical. Although Marcus Rashford had some good moments, he was unable to add an assist. It can happen to a close 5-4-1, as well.