England will be looking to seal their automatic qualification to the 2022 FIFA World Cup when they visit a lowly San Marino on Monday night. The match is scheduled to take place at the San Marino Stadium with kickoff at 22:45.
San Marino have been the whipping boys in Group I of the UEFA World Cup qualifiers having lost all their nine group matches so far and are set to finish at bottom of the group with a single point on the board. They are also the weakest side in the group at both ends on the pitch having just scored one goal while conceding 36, at an average of four goals per game in the run.
They head into the match in really poor form as they have lost all their last 11 games across all competitions managing just two goals while conceding 47 in return. They are coming off a 4-0 defeat to Hungary in Budapest last Friday. Their main focus in this match will be to keep the score line as low as possible but they face a side that has scored them 29-0 in their last five meetings.
Meanwhile England have made a strong qualifying campaign having picked up seven wins and draws in their nine matches so far. They are among the nine sides that still remain unbeaten the UEFA World Cup qualifiers and have collected 23 points from their nine matches to sit at the top of Group I.
However, Poland just three points below them in the group standings therefore they will at least need a draw to secure their top Group I finish, but will enter the match with a win mind. Gareth Southgate’s side have strong at both ends on the pitch in this qualifying campaign as they have scored 29 goals while have conceded just three in their nine matches and are coming off a 5-0 thrashing of Albania on Friday, a match that was Harry Kane bag a hat-trick.
The Three Lions are in a good form having lost none of their last six qualifying fixtures while have picked up four wins and two draws in the run and should be in for another routine win on Monday.
San Marino vs England head to head
England have not lost or drawn with San Marino in their last five matches since 2012 and this most likely will be their sixth win on a row against San Marino.
- England 5-0 San Marino
- San Marino 0-6 England
- England 5-0 San Marino
- San Marino 0-8 England
- England 5-0 San Marino
Home
- Hungary 4-0 San Marino
- San Marino 0-3 Andorra
- Poland 5-0 San Marino
- Albania 5-0 San Marino
- San Marino 1-7 San Marino
Away
- England 5-0 Albania
- England 1-1 Hungary
- Andorra 0-5 England
- Poland 1-1 England
- England 4-0 Andorra
San Marino team news
San Marino might be without the services of David Tomassini who came off after just 36 minutes against Hungary while Davide Simoncini returned from his suspension.
England team news
England will be without Mason Mount and Luke Shaw who continue to recover from their injuries and Gareth is expected to do squad rotation in this fixture.
Prediction and odds
- England win
- Goals over 2.5
- Both sides to score (no)
