England vs Andorra: Will Gareth Southgate ring the changes against Group I minnows?

England continue their World Cup qualifying campaign against Andorra on Sunday and Gareth Southgate could use the occasion to rotate his side.

England sit top of Group I having maintained their 100 per cent record with Thursday's 4-0 thrashing of Hungary in a game marred by racist abuse in Budapest.

Southgate named his strongest available line-up for that fixture but with a potentially awkward trip to Poland to come on Wednesday, Sunday's return to Wembley to face a side ranked 156th in the world by FIFA could present an opportunity for fringe players to shine.

Up front, Patrick Bamford will hope to make his debut having received his first senior call-up.

The Leeds striker was an unused substitute against Hungary, watching on from the bench as Harry Kane scored twice, but with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Marcus Rashford and Ollie Watkins all absent due to injury, he will be hopeful of featuring.

Southgate talked up his "excellent progress" earlier this week. Bamford, a former England U21 international, scored 17 Premier League goals under Marcelo Bielsa last season and opened his account for the new campaign against Burnley on Sunday.

Bamford is the only uncapped player in Southgate's squad but he is not the only one who will be seeking to make a positive impression against Andorra.

Jesse Lingard has returned to the squad having missed out on a place at Euro 2020 and is in contention to start having appeared from the bench in Budapest.

Bukayo Saka, who missed England's decisive spot-kick in the Euro 2020 final penalty shootout, their last game at Wembley, is another who will hope for a more prominent role having featured as a substitute on Sunday.

In midfield, Southgate to mix things up having picked Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips, his favoured central pairing, in the win over Hungary.

Jordan Henderson gives him an experienced option to turn to while there is also the youthful energy of Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham, who will be hoping to add to his seven caps.

In defence, Conor Coady, Tyrone Mings, Reece James and Trent Alexander-Arnold will all hope to feature having missed out against Hungary, while Southgate may even be tempted to mix things up in goal, with Nick Pope and Sam Johnstone to choose from in addition to Jordan Pickford.

Andorra head to Wembley having secured a rare victory on Thursday, beating fellow minnows San Marino 2-0, but England have won all four of their past meetings with an aggregate score of 16-0, and boast an impressive record at home in World Cup Qualifiers.

In fact, since losing 1-0 to Germany in their final game at the old Wembley under Kevin Keegan, England have not lost, winning 23 of their home World Cup Qualifiers and drawing the other two.

World Cup Qualifying - Group I standings

England five points clear at top of Group I


Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1) England	4	4	0	0	13	1	12	12
2) Poland	4	2	1	1	11	6	5	7
3) Hungary	4	2	1	1	10	8	2	7
4) Albania	4	2	0	2	4	6	-2	6
5) Andorra	4	1	0	3	3	8	-5	3
6) San Marino	4	0	0	4	0	12	-12	0

Team news

With Gareth Southgate confirming there will be "a lot of changes" at Wembley, one player who will certainly be missing is Jadon Sancho, who has returned to Manchester United after suffering a minor knock in training.

Sunday's game could be an opportunity for Nick Pope, Tyrone Mings, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka to receive some playing time, while Trent Alexander-Arnold - who missed Euro 2020 due to injury - is also in contention to start.

Opta stats

England have won all four of their international matches against Andorra by an aggregate score of 16-0, with this their first match against them since a 6-0 home win under Fabio Capello in June 2009.
Andorra are one of only four international nations that England have faced as many as four times without conceding a single goal, along with Estonia, Lithuania and Moldova.
England have lost none of their last 25 home World Cup qualifiers (W23 D2) since losing 1-0 to Germany in their final match at the old Wembley under Kevin Keegan. They have scored 71 goals across these unbeaten games and conceded just 11 times.
Andorra have lost 55 of their 57 away qualifying matches for the World Cup and Euros, drawing the other two: 0-0 against Macedonia in February 2005 and 2-2 against Albania in November 2019. In all competitions, Andorra have only ever won one away game, against San Marino in a friendly in 2017.
Andorra enjoyed a 2-0 victory over San Marino in their last qualifier, only the third time they'd ever won a World Cup qualifying match, along with 1-0 wins over North Macedonia in 2004 and Hungary in 2017. It was also the first time the Andorrans had scored two goals in a World Cup qualifier since a 3-2 defeat to Cyprus in September 2000.
Harry Kane has scored in each of his last 13 qualifying matches for the Euros/World Cup, netting 17 goals in total in this run. Across all competitions, Kane has 39 goals in 62 caps and one more goal will see him equal Michael Owen's tally for the Three Lions and move him into joint-fifth on the all-time list.
Raheem Sterling has been directly involved in 11 goals in 13 appearances at Wembley in qualifiers for major tournaments (Euros/World Cup), scoring seven goals and assisting four. He has also ended on the winning side in all 13 of these matches.

England's World Cup Qualifying fixtures

September 5: England vs Andorra - kick-off 5pm

September 8: Poland vs England - kick-off 7.45pm

October 9: Andorra vs England - kick-off 7.45pm

October 12: England vs Hungary - kick-off 7.45pm

November 12: England vs Albania - kick-off 7.45pm

November 15: San Marino vs England - kick-off 7.45pm

World Cup qualification explained

Thirteen European nations will compete at the Qatar World Cup, which will be played in November and December of 2022 to avoid the punishing summer heat in the Middle East.

The winners of the 10 groups will qualify automatically for the finals.

A further three places will be fought out between the 10 group runners-up and the two highest-ranked teams from the Nations League who have not already qualified or finished in a runners-up spot.

These 12 teams will be divided into three play-off paths, each featuring four countries, to determine the final three European berths. The format will consist of two knockout rounds in March 2022, from which the three additional teams qualify.

The draw for the 2022 World Cup finals takes place in April 2022.