ANDORRA may be the whipping boys of European football, but David Rodrigo and his squad have every intention of making life as difficult as possible for England at Wembley tonight.
The Principality were comprehensively beaten by Belarus 5-1 in Grodno on Saturday, taking their record to six defeats from six World Cup qualifiers, conceding 19 and scoring only two goals to sit firmly bottom of Group 6.
However, while there may
be a clear gulf in class between the part-time Andorrans and England, they still managed to frustrate Fabio Capello's men for a goalless opening 45 minutes of their clash in Barcelona during early September last year before Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole came off the bench to strike twice and secure victory.
Defender Toni Lima maintains Andorra will once again use everything at their disposal to try to stifle a side looking for a seventh straight qualifying victory which would put them within touching distance of the 2010 finals in South Africa.
"Football is a contact sport and the English play a physical game and with great intensity," he said. "As for fair play, the football purists talk about it, but the interests in football are greater and you are always open to alternatives. There is never any intention to deliberately injure anyone, but a kick or pull or something which does not cause injury, you have to do that to prevent danger."
Lima, 38, added: "We have a problem when we play against big teams because they do not respect us much. We know what our level is and we do not need them to remind us. Most of our players work during the day and have to train afterwards.
"Everyone knows the difference there is between England and Andorra. However, we made it difficult for them in the first match and want to make it difficult for them again.
"I hope the English team behaves the way they should, as a great team, with respect and good behaviour. We will see."
Manager Rodrigo added:
"There is a big difference between the two teams, but we have not got anything to lose. We have recovered well from our last long trip to Belarus and have enjoyed two days of hard work in Barcelona. That will be good for the team.
"England has a lot more quality that what we do, but we go to Wembley with hope and want to improve the image of Andorra."
His England counterpart Capello has rejected the theory that the match is a pointless exercise. The part-timers have won only three games in their entire history and would regard a goal as a major achievement on their first appearance at Wembley Stadium.
Yet neither Capello, nor predecessor Steve McClaren, will recall meeting Andorra in Barcelona with any fondness, given that England were held to goalless first opening periods on both occasions which was enough, in McClaren's case, to trigger vicious abuse from the travelling fans.
And those memories ensure England will be fully focussed.
"You have to ask Fifa why we are playing not me, I would be very happy to go on holiday," said Capello.
"But football is not like other sports. When you defend all the time, sometimes you can draw. That is what happened in the first half in Andorra and we had to wait another 20 minutes in the second to score the first goal. Tomorrow I hope we score quickly. After one goal, you can play without pressure."
Capello is debating whether to rest Glen Johnson and Emile Heskey, both of whom would be suspended for the far more significant September clash with Croatia if they picked up another yellow card.
David Beckham is in the same position, yet he could be the man Capello turns to in order to fill the void created by Gareth Barry's one-match ban.
Shaun Wright-Phillips is another alternative but not, it seems, Steven Gerrard.
"I could put Steven there but I prefer him nearer the box because he can shoot from a longer distance," said Capello. One man who can expect to start is Theo Walcott, who didn't exactly distinguish himself on his return to international duty in Almaty and was replaced at half-time.
Given Walcott must join up with the England Under-21 squad ahead of their European Championship campaign in Sweden later this week, Capello might have decided to give the Arsenal star the evening off.
Instead, Walcott has been identified as a key man.
"Theo will be very important because we have to attack," said Capello. "Wide areas are very important because they are places where one man can go directly against another.
"I have spoken with Theo. He needs to play."
Tube strike to keep fans away from Wembley, but FA promises refundsTHE Football Association has pledged to offer full refunds to any England supporters who cannot get to tonight's World Cup encounter with Andorra.
Ticket sales were stopped last week once it became clear the 48-hour London Underground workers' strike was likely to go ahead.
But 70,000 supporters still face having a nightmare journey to Wembley, with all tube services cancelled.
So, while the actual stipulation of the ticket does not require refunds to be made in such circumstances, the FA has decided to make the gesture, even though it could cost them a substantial sum.
However, Soho Square officials believe it is the best-case scenario from a very difficult situation, which led to fears of the Group 6 encounter being played behind closed doors, or being postponed altogether.
"If people had not had a can-do attitude, we may have had a very difficult circumstance," said FA director of communications Adrian Bevington.
It was certainly a test for new FA chief executive Ian Watmore, who only took up his post on 1 June. Watmore had meetings with the Metropolitan Police, Brent Council and London transport authorities yesterday and emerged believing he had done the best thing for all concerned.
Turnstiles will be open two-and-a-half hours before kick-off, at 5.45pm, with car parks being available in advance of that.
"Travelling will not be straightforward and fans should prepare to have a disrupted journey," said Watmore, who confirmed later that nearby Wembley overground stations would be used.
"Supporters should not rely on public transport and refunds will be made available to all ticket holders who decide not to attend this game.
"We are disappointed this has happened. But we know English people love their football and will turn out in force I am sure."
Simon Stone The full article contains 1108 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
