Why is England vs. Andorra at Villa Park? World Cup qualifier moves away from Wembley Stadium

Dom Farrell

Why is England vs. Andorra at Villa Park? World Cup qualifier moves away from Wembley Stadium image

England resume their World Cup qualification campaign with games against Andorra and Serbia over the coming week.

Thomas Tuchel's side have won three out of three in Group K, although they are likely to face the sternest test of their credentials to date when they travel to Belgrade on Tuesday, September 9.

Three days prior to that, they take on Andorra, having only beaten the Pyrenees minnows 1-0 in the reverse fixture.

But the Three Lions will not play this game at their usual home ground of Wembley Stadium.

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Why is England vs. Andorra at Villa Park?

England face Andorra on Saturday, September 6 at Villa Park, Birmingham, the home of Premier League club Aston Villa. The fixture date clashes with a Coldplay concert at Wembley Stadium in London.

Wembley is England's national stadium and hosts the vast majority of the national team's games, along with all major domestic cup and playoff finals.

Harry Kane in action for England

Have England played at Villa Park before?

England's most recent match at Villa Park was a 0-0 draw against the Netherlands in 2005.

That was their ninth match at the Birmingham venue, with the first coming back in 1899 against Scotland.

Since the rebuilt Wembley reopened in 2007, England have played predominantly in the capital. In between that point and 2000, when the old Wembley was demolished, the Three Lions played at various stadia across the country, most frequently Old Trafford in Manchester.

England have started to move games around the country once again over recent years, but the outcome has not always been the most enjoyable for fans.

In the UEFA Nations League in June 2022, Hungary thrashed Gareth Southgate's experimental side 4-0 at Molineux, while Tuchel's most recent fixture in charge was a 3-1 friendly defeat to Senegal at The City Ground.

Dom Farrell

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.