ANDORRA LA VELLA. England’s footballers are well on their way to the World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
On Saturday, in the qualifying match of the I-group they comfortably won in Andorra 5: 0, the first national team goals were scored by Jack Grealish and Ben Chilwell.
European vice-champion coach Gareth Southgate deployed mostly “second tier” players against the outsider, who had no problems against the 156th team in the FIFA rankings.
The English have kept a clean sheet twelve times this calendar year, which is their new record.
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They have not lost in 17 duels in a row, this is their longest series since September 1988 – May 1990. They have six wins and one draw, they are the group’s leader by 4 points ahead of Albania, which won 1-0 in Hungary.
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“It was a nice evening for me and the boys. Fortunately, we scored quickly and then it was only positive,” the DPA agency quoted the author of one of the goals, Tammy Abraham.
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“It was time to score a goal, everyone was talking about it. It took 16 matches, it had to come and I’m happy,” Grealisha quoted the UEFA website as saying.
“Goals were given by players who don’t give them much. They were special moments for them. We managed the match, it was a strange challenge, we had to attack to the full. Everyone saw that we coped well, I’m happy,” said Southgate.
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The match was led by Kateryna Monzulová from Ukraine, who became the first woman to decide the interstate match between the English.
“It’s a very important moment on the road to gender equality. But the quality of the referee is important, not gender. We look forward to being part of this special event,” said England coach Gareth Southgate.
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