Roy Keane criticised England for falling back “into their old ways” and playing “sidewards, backwards passes” in their uninspiring win over Andorra.
An own goal and a second-half header from Declan Rice took England to a 2-0 win at Villa Park to maintain their 100 per cent record in World Cup qualifying but this latest victory was only a slight improvement on the poor performance away to Andorra in June.
The message before the match from Thomas Tuchel was that his side were ready to show the intensity, energy and clinical edge that had been missing in the summer but, after a fast start, England struggled to pick a way through their well-organised opponents. There were chances for more goals, particularly in the second half, but this was not the big step forwards Tuchel would have been hoping for.
England managed just 11 shots from 83 per cent possession.
“The manager didn’t look too happy at the end,” said Sky Sports pundit Keane on ITV.
“He’ll be frustrated again with the second half. We’re on about setting high standards, getting good habits.
“I still think England fell back into their old ways tonight, certainly in the second half. Sidewards, backwards passes.
“We saw their two goals, particularly the second one, just from a cross. They’ve got to cross it a bit more, don’t complicate the game. And I still think they go backwards too many times.”
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Thomas Tuchel spoke after England’s 2-0 win against Andorra and said there are aspects the team needs to improve but has no concerns after the result
Tuchel insisted progress is being made. “I’m very positive about the group that was in camp now and how they presented themselves, how they behaved, how they trained and how we played today,” he said in his post-match press conference.
“I’m absolutely convinced that we are on the right way and on the right path.”
However, he also spoke plainly when criticising the performances of attackers Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Marcus Rashford.
“We missed the little moments to accelerate the game,” he told ITV. “Maybe Ebs had not his best day in the No 10 position. He trained so well. In the decision-making, struggled a little bit.
“The last pass from Noni was not clinical enough. Rashford had some good moments but couldn’t finish them with a clinical assist.
“We should have scored the second one earlier because the second goal gave us much more freedom.”
‘A very strong performance’ – Tuchel praises Anderson
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Elliot Anderson was pleased with how his eye-catching debut performance for England against Andorra panned out
There was, though, praise for Elliot Anderson, who impressed as the deep-lying midfielder on debut.
Tuchel had flagged this as a problem position for England before the game, hinting centre-back John Stones could be the best option, but he said Anderson “passed the test” and could continue in the role going forwards, starting with Serbia away on Tuesday.
Anderson impressed on debut for England
“He’s just a very, very good football player. He has the physicality, he’s a very mobile No 6, he loves to defend, he loves to put his body inside, he loves passing, he loves to break the lines, he’s just very mobile in this game, it was a pleasure to see,” said Tuchel.
“It was a bit of a nervous start into the week, which is also nice to see, that not everything is normal for the guys. They’re still nervous to come to camp, and I’m not afraid to admit it, that they were a bit nervous, but very quickly he adapted to the quality and then we thought, why not give him the stadium straight away?
“I think the team around him made it as easy as possible for him, and he had a very strong performance.”
