
When England are playing during September international break as Three Lions end 20-year stadium hiatus
England are in action both home and away over the next few days, as September’s international break swings into action.
The Three Lions currently lead their World Cup qualifying group for next summer’s finals, having won all three of their games thus far.
Whilst new manager Thomas Tuchel is still adapting to life as manager, England know how vital their next two games will be in booking a spot at the 2026 edition in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Who are England playing against this week?
Thomas Tuchel is still getting to grips with how to setup his England side (Image credit: Getty Images)For Tuchel and his players, their first test comes against Andorra this weekend, with Villa Park set to host the 17:00 BST kick-off on Saturday. It will be the first time an England fixture has been played at the Midlands club’s home ground in over 20 years.
First-timers Djed Spence and Elliot Anderson will be looking to impress if they make their senior debuts over the next week. Ruben Loftus-Cheek is also back in the fold for the first time in six years.
Djed Spence has been called up to England’s senior side for the first time (Image credit: Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)When have England played at Villa Park in the past?England 2-1 Scotland (08/04/1899)England 2-2 Scotland (03/05/1902)England 0-1 Scotland (08/04/1922)England 1-0 Wales (10/11/1948)England 2-0 Republic of Ireland (14/11/1951)England 2-2 Wales (26/11/1958)England 3-0 Spain (28/02/2001)England 1-1 Portugal (07/09/2002)England 0-0 Netherlands (09/02/2005)Following the clash with Andorra, the Three Lions will face Serbia in Belgrade at the Rajko Mitic Stadium on Tuesday. That game will get underway at 19:45 BST and will be shown live on ITV1.
The meeting will be only the second time the two nations have met in a competitive fixture, with England coming out on top in the first-ever meeting at Euro 2024, as Jude Bellingham netted the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win.
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Tuchel confirmed on Friday that Manchester City defender John Stones has returned back to his club with an injury problem.
“Unfortunately, John Stones just left,” Tuchel said. “He came with minor issues – muscle issues – to camp and didn’t progress as we thought and hoped he would, so he left camp this morning [Friday].
John Stones will play no part in September’s internationals for England (Image credit: Getty Images)”We will not take the risk up against Andorra and also unfortunately, not against Serbia. Everyone else is available. We had 21 players yesterday in training and 21 players today in training and hopefully make sure everyone is available for tomorrow.”
In FourFourTwo’s view, England should have enough quality to ensure two more wins in their qualifying quest for the 2026 World Cup, with Serbia likely to prove the tougher test of the two sides.