Let’s get this out of the way as quickly as possible, there’s no point in drawing it out and extending the agony. England were shocking against Andorra and if it continues the knives will soon be out for manager Thomas Tuchel.
The 1-0 win in the World Cup qualifier in Barcelona was a dismal performance and, apart from Harry Kane’s second-half winner, the best part of the match was the final whistle.
To be fair, players stretched physically and mentally to their limits by increasingly long seasons and some being distracted by the imminent Fifa Club World Cup isn’t helping matters as the beautiful game embarks on another chase for big dollars.
That can’t be used as an excuse to let the Three Lions off the hook, though, as they struggled to beat one of the worst teams in international football.
England were jeered off the pitch at half-time after failing to score against the team ranked 173rd in the world and continued to struggle to create meaningful chances after Kane finally broke the deadlock in the 50th minute, receiving more boos at the end.
They are top Group K with a maximum return from their first three games against poor opposition but matches like this underwhelming affair do little to spark enthusiasm for the international breaks which will litter the early months of the next Premier League season.
There is also little to whet the appetite for Tuesday’s friendly with Senegal at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground and Tuchel will be scrutinising his players to see who is up for the challenge and ready to give everything even when the stakes are not at their highest.
The former Chelsea boss wasn’t slow to criticise his team as a whole against Andorra, admitting he disliked their ‘lack of urgency’, adding they ‘lacked the ‘seriousness’ required for the occasion so an improvement in attitude should be clear for all to see against the Lions of Teranga, who drew 1-1 with Ireland in Dublin on Friday.
At least that was an entertaining encounter, raising the prospect of more of the same against England and hopefully the hosts raise their standards and emerge 3-1 winners at 10/1 with William Hill, bet365 and Betfred.
Kane is 10/3 with Hills to provide the first goal and 10/11 with the same firm, Ladbrokes and Coral to hit the net at any time while Eberechi Eze is 27/10 with the big three bookies to also get in the scoresheet.
More realistically, it will be another drab affair and under 2.5 goals can be a decent saver at 13/10 with bet365.
Others bets
Wales dominated in their 3-0 win against Lichtenstein in Friday’s World Cup qualifier in Cardiff but face a much more demanding challenge against Belgium.
Harry Wilson is 13/2 with Paddy Power and Sky Bet to score his sixth goal in eight internationals for Wales but Youri Tielemans is 5/1 with the same firms to find the net at any time and a 2-1 win for Belgium is 15/2 with bet365, Betfred and BoyleSports.
• Coco Gauff is 8/1 with Ladbrokes and Coral to win Wimbledon and claim her third grand slam title following Saturday’s French Open triumph against Aryna Sabalenka.