Andorra national football team

The Andorra national football team (Catalan: Selecció de futbol d'Andorra) represents Andorra in association football and is controlled by the Andorran Football Federation, the governing body for football in Andorra. The team has enjoyed very little success due to the Principality's tiny population, the fifth smallest of any UEFA country (only Liechtenstein, San Marino, Gibraltar and the Faroe Islands are smaller).

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Andorra women's national football team.

Andorra
Nickname(s)Tricolors (The Tricolours)
AssociationAndorran Football Federation
(Federació Andorrana de Futbol)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachKoldo Álvarez
CaptainIldefons Lima
Most capsIldefons Lima (128)
Top scorerIldefons Lima (11)
Home stadiumEstadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella
FIFA codeAND
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 135 (16 July 2020)[1]
Highest125 (September 2005)
Lowest206 (December 2011)
First international
 Andorra 1–6 Estonia 
(Andorra la Vella, Andorra; 13 November 1996)
Biggest win
 Andorra 2–0 Belarus 
(Aixovall, Andorra; 26 April 2000)
 Andorra 2–0 Albania 
(Andorra la Vella, Andorra; 17 April 2002)
 San Marino 0–2 Andorra 
(Serravalle, San Marino; 22 February 2017)
Biggest defeat
 Czech Republic 8–1 Andorra 
(Liberec, Czech Republic; 4 June 2005)
 Croatia 7–0 Andorra 
(Zagreb, Croatia; 7 October 2006)

Andorra's first official game was a 6–1 defeat in a friendly match to Estonia in 1996. Since the qualifying rounds for the UEFA Euro 2000 tournament, Andorra have competed in qualifying for every European Championship and World Cup but have had very little success. They have only ever won six matches, four of them at home. They have three wins in competitive matches, 1–0 wins against Macedonia in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying competition; Hungary in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying competition; and Moldova in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying competition.

History

Though the Andorran Football Federation formed in 1994,[2] and the domestic league started in 1995, the national team could not participate in major championships until it gained affiliation with governing bodies FIFA and UEFA in 1996.[2][3] The national team played its first match against Estonia in Andorra La Vella and lost 6–1.[4]

Andorra's first match in a FIFA-sanctioned competition was a 3–1 loss to Armenia on 5 September 1998 in a qualifier for UEFA Euro 2000. Andorra lost all ten qualifiers for the tournament.[5] The team particularly struggled in away matches; each loss was by at least three goals.[5] Andorra scored only three goals, two of which were penalties,[5] and two of which were in the away matches.[5] Andorra conceded 28 goals,[5] and their biggest defeat of the qualifiers was a 6–1 away loss to Russia.[5]

For their first World Cup qualifying campaign, Andorra were drawn in a group with Cyprus, Estonia, Ireland, the Netherlands and Portugal.[6] They lost their opening match 1–0 to Estonia. In the next game, they lost 3–2 to Cyprus but scored their first World Cup qualifying goals.[6] They were again defeated by Estonia, this time 2–1.[6] They lost all their matches and their only away goal was in a 3–1 loss against Ireland.[6] Their worst defeat was 7–1 to Portugal on a neutral ground in Lleida, Spain.[6] Andorra finished the campaign with no points and conceded 36 goals in ten matches.[6]

In the team's qualification campaign for Euro 2004 they again lost every game. They scored their only goal in a 2–1 away loss to Bulgaria.[7] In this competition the scores were closer than before as they lost 3–0 to Bulgaria, Croatia and Belgium, 2–0 twice to Estonia, 2–0 to Croatia and 1–0 to Belgium.[7]

Match against Ukraine in 2009.

By Andorran standards, qualification for the 2006 World Cup was successful. They won their first competitive game 1–0 at home against Macedonia. Andorra midfielder Marc Bernaus, who played in the Spanish second division, received a long throw in off his chest and volleyed in a goal early in the second half.[8] After the game, Macedonia coach Dragan Kanatlarovski resigned and called the game "a shameful outcome, a humiliation."[9] Andorra also drew two matches, 0–0 in Macedonia and 0–0 at home against Finland.[10]

In Euro 2008 qualifying, Andorra again lost every game.[11] The closest game was against Russia, a 1–0 defeat on 21 November 2007. Their biggest defeat was a 7–0 loss to Croatia in Andorra La Vella, which is their worst defeat in UEFA competitions[12] and matched their loss to the Czech Republic as their largest losing deficit. Andorra scored only two goals and conceded 42 in a total of 12 games.[11] In 2010 World Cup qualifying, Andorra lost all ten matches.[13] For the tournament, they scored three goals, in defeats to Belarus and Kazakhstan, and conceded 39 goals, including six in a defeat to England, the largest margin in the group.[13]

Qualifying for UEFA Euro 2012 ended in familiar fashion; they lost all ten matches, scoring only one goal and conceding 25; their best results were two one-goal losses to Slovakia and a 3–1 loss in Ireland.[14] The 2014 World Cup qualifying tournament was even more disastrous. Andorra lost all their matches while conceding 30 goals and not scoring.

Against Israel in 2015.

During 2016 UEFA Euro qualifying, Andorra again lost all of its ten games but scored four goals, setting a national team record for goals scored in a European Championship qualifying group. On 22 February 2017, Andorra beat San Marino away 2–0 in a friendly match, ending with 12 years and 132 days without winning any match.[15] On 9 June 2017, Andorra beat Hungary 1–0 in a World Cup home qualifier with a goal by Marc Rebés, their first victory in a competitive match since 2004.[16] Thanks to these two wins and a draw against the Faroe Islands on 6 July 2017, Andorra progressed 57 positions in the FIFA rankings to 129th, its second best position ever.[17] On 21 March 2018, Rebés scored the only goal of a friendly win over Liechtenstein in Spain, giving Andorra their third victory of the last 13 months and sixth of all time.[18]

In 2018, Andorra made its debut in the newly-created UEFA Nations League. They played in Group 1 of League D, where they finished at the bottom of the group with four ties and two losses, finishing unbeaten at home.

On 11 October 2019, Andorra won 1–0 against Moldova in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying competition, thus ending a 56-match winless run in Euro qualifiers.[19] One month later, the team earned one more point after an away draw against Albania, thus avoiding for the first time to end a qualifying round in the last position.

Stadium
Andorra's former home stadium, Estadi Comunal d'Andorra la Vella.

From 1996 until 2014, Andorra played their home matches at the Comunal d'Andorra la Vella, in the capital city of Andorra la Vella. This stadium has a capacity of 1,800 and also hosts the matches of club sides FC Andorra and the Andorran Premier League.[20] On 9 September 2014, the national team began playing at the new Estadi Nacional with a capacity of 3,306.

Andorra have occasionally played home matches outside their borders. For example, Andorra hosted France and England in the 2000 European Championship, 2008 European Championship and 2010 World Cup qualifiers in the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, which was the home of RCD Espanyol between 1997 and 2009.[21][22]

Kit suppliers
Kit provider Period
Reusch 1996–2000
Reebok 2000–2004
Diadora 2004–2006
Joma 2006–2008
Adidas 2008–2018
Macron 2018–2026

Reputation

Andorra's lopsided win-loss record gives them a lowly reputation in world football. The nation has only won three competitive fixtures, World Cup qualifying matches against Macedonia in 2004 and Hungary in 2017, both by 1–0; a European Championship qualifying match against Moldova in 2019, by the same score; and three friendly games against Belarus and Albania at home and San Marino away, all of them by 2–0.

With the fourth smallest population of any UEFA country,[23] until the admission of Gibraltar, the talent pool is small. Players are predominantly amateurs because the Andorra domestic league is only part-time. Since Andorra began playing in 1996, their average FIFA ranking is 163.[24]

Manager history
Koldo.

Manuel Miluir was the first coach of the team and managed their first three matches of European Championship qualifying. He departed in 1999 to make way for David Rodrigo, whose first competitive match was a 2–0 European Championship qualifying defeat at home to Iceland on 27 March of that year. Rodrigo had been in charge of the team until February 2010, when it was announced that Koldo would take over this role.[25]

Competition records

FIFA World Cup record
FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1930 to 1998Did not enter
2002Did not qualify100010536
200612129434
2010100010339
2014100010030
201810118223
2022TBD------
Total0/2100000052234714162

UEFA European Championship record
UEFA European Championship record UEFA European Championship qualifying record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1960 to 1996Did not enter
2000Did not qualify100010328
20048008118
2008120012242
2012100010125
2016100010436
202010118320
2024To be determined000000
Total0/1600000060115814169

UEFA Nations League record
UEFA Nations League record
Year Division Pos Pld W D L GF GA
2018–19D4th604229
2020–21 D To be determined
Total604229

UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group H
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  France 10 8 1 1 25 6 +19 25 Qualify for final tournament — 1–1 4–0 4–1 3–0 2–1
2  Turkey 10 7 2 1 18 3 +15 23 2–0 — 0–0 1–0 1–0 4–0
3  Iceland 10 6 1 3 14 11 +3 19 0–1 2–1 — 1–0 2–0 3–0
4  Albania 10 4 1 5 16 14 +2 13 0–2 0–2 4–2 — 2–2 2–0
5  Andorra 10 1 1 8 3 20 −17 4 0–4 0–2 0–2 0–3 — 1–0
6  Moldova 10 1 0 9 4 26 −22 3 1–4 0–4 1–2 0–4 1–0 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

2018–19 UEFA Nations League
Main article: 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion[lower-alpha 1]
1  Georgia 6 5 1 0 12 2 +10 16 Promotion to League C — 2–1 1–0 3–0
2  Kazakhstan 6 1 3 2 8 7 +1 6 0–2 — 1–1 4–0
3  Latvia 6 0 4 2 2 6 −4 4 0–3 1–1 — 0–0
4  Andorra 6 0 4 2 2 9 −7 4 1–1 1–1 0–0 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, the second-placed teams in each group and the best third-placed team among all groups were also promoted.

Recent results and fixtures
Main article: Andorra national football team results (2020–present)

2019
7 September 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifyingTurkey 1–0 AndorraIstanbul, Turkey
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)
Report Stadium: Vodafone Park
Referee: Donald Robertson (Scotland)
10 September 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifyingFrance 3–0 AndorraSaint-Denis, France
20:45
Report Stadium: Stade de France
Referee: Mykola Balakin (Ukraine)
11 October 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifyingAndorra 1–0 MoldovaAndorra la Vella, Andorra
20:45
Report Stadium: Estadi Nacional
Referee: Jonathan Lardot (Belgium)
14 October 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifyingIceland 2–0 AndorraReykjavík, Iceland
20:45 (18:45 UTC±0)
Report Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur
Referee: Tamás Bognár (Hungary)
14 November 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifyingAlbania 2–2 AndorraElbasan, Albania
20:45
Report
Stadium: Elbasan Arena
Referee: Kristo Tohver (Estonia)
17 November 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifyingAndorra 0–2 TurkeyAndorra la Vella, Andorra
20:45 Report
Stadium: Estadi Nacional
Referee: Ivan Kružliak (Slovakia)

2020
3 September 2020 (2020-09-03) 2020–21 UEFA Nations LeagueLatvia v AndorraRiga, Latvia
20:45 Report Stadium: Daugava Stadium
6 September 2020 (2020-09-06) 2020–21 UEFA Nations LeagueAndorra v Faroe IslandsAndorra la Vella, Andorra
15:00 Report Stadium: Estadi Nacional
9 October 2020 (2020-10-09) 2020–21 UEFA Nations LeagueAndorra v MaltaAndorra la Vella, Andorra
20:45 Report Stadium: Estadi Nacional
12 October 2020 (2020-10-12) 2020–21 UEFA Nations LeagueFaroe Islands v AndorraTórshavn, Faroe Islands
20:45 Report Stadium: Tórsvøllur
14 November 2020 (2020-11-14) 2020–21 UEFA Nations LeagueMalta v AndorraTa' Qali, Malta
15:00 Report Stadium: National Stadium
17 November 2020 (2020-11-17) 2020–21 UEFA Nations LeagueAndorra v LatviaAndorra la Vella, Andorra
20:45 Report Stadium: Estadi Nacional

Andorra all-time record against all nations
As of 17 November 2019

° FIFA-unofficial match on 19 February 1998 between Andorra – Czech Republic (0–1) is not included.

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Turkey on 17 November 2019.

Caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2019, after the match against Turkey.
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Josep Gómes (1985-12-03) 3 December 1985 63 0 Inter d'Escaldes
13 1GK Ferran Pol (1983-02-28) 28 February 1983 27 0 UE Santa Coloma
6 2DF Ildefons Lima (Captain) (1979-12-10) 10 December 1979 128 11 Inter d'Escaldes
17 2DF Joan Cervós (1998-02-24) 24 February 1998 17 0 Colorado Springs Switchbacks
15 2DF Moisés San Nicolás (1993-09-17) 17 September 1993 48 0 FC Santa Coloma
5 2DF Emili García (1989-01-11) 11 January 1989 46 1 Inter d'Escaldes
21 2DF Marc García (1988-03-21) 21 March 1988 44 0 Montañesa
20 2DF Max Llovera (1997-01-08) 8 January 1997 36 0 Granollers
7 3MF Marc Pujol (1982-08-21) 21 August 1982 84 2 Inter d'Escaldes
3 3MF Marc Vales (1990-04-04) 4 April 1990 66 1 Sandefjord
11 3MF Sergi Moreno (1987-11-25) 25 November 1987 66 0 Inter d'Escaldes
2 3MF Cristian Martínez (1989-10-16) 16 October 1989 59 5 Inter d'Escaldes
23 3MF Jordi Rubio (1987-11-01) 1 November 1987 46 0 UE Santa Coloma
10 3MF Ludovic Clemente (1986-05-09) 9 May 1986 36 0 Andorra
19 3MF Sebas Gómez (1983-11-01) 1 November 1983 32 0 Engordany
4 3MF Marc Rebés (1994-07-03) 3 July 1994 30 2 FC Santa Coloma
22 3MF Víctor Rodríguez (1987-09-07) 7 September 1987 30 0 Engordany
14 4FW Jordi Aláez (1998-01-23) 23 January 1998 27 1 FC Santa Coloma
16 4FW Àlex Martínez (1998-10-10) 10 October 1998 22 1 FC Santa Coloma
9 4FW Ricard Fernández (1999-03-19) 19 March 1999 7 0 Igualada

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to the Andorra squad in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Francisco Pires (1998-01-25) 25 January 1998 0 0 UE Santa Coloma v.  Iceland, 14 October 2019
DF Txus Rubio (1994-09-09) 9 September 1994 25 0 FC Santa Coloma v.  Albania, 14 November 2019
DF Albert Alavedra (1999-02-26) 26 February 1999 0 0 Manresa v.  Albania, 14 November 2019
DF Adri Rodrígues (1988-08-14) 14 August 1988 16 0 Atlètic d'Escaldes v.  Iceland, 14 October 2019
MF Marc Ferré (1994-01-11) 11 January 1994 2 0 Engordany v.  Albania, 14 November 2019
MF Márcio Vieira (1984-10-10) 10 October 1984 92 0 Atlético Monzón v.  Iceland, 14 October 2019
FW Aarón Sánchez (1996-06-05) 5 June 1996 12 0 Engordany v.  France, 10 September 2019

RET: player retired from international football
INJ: player withdrewed due to injury

Record
Ildefons Lima is Andorra's most capped player and the all-time top goalscorer.
Cristian Martínez is the only player to have scored two goals in a single official match.

Most capped players
As of 17 November 2019
Rank Player Caps Goals Years
1 Ildefons Lima 128 11 1997–
2 Óscar Sonejee 106 4 1997–2015
3 Márcio Vieira 92 0 2005–
4 Josep Ayala 84 1 2002–2017
Marc Pujol 84 2 2000–
6 Manolo Jiménez 79 1 1998–2012
7 Koldo Álvarez de Eulate 78 0 1998–2009
8 Juli Sánchez 73 2 1996–2019
9 Txema Garcia 71 0 1997–2009
10 Justo Ruiz 67 2 1998–2008

Top goalscorers
As of 17 November 2019
Rank Player Goals Caps Average Years
1 Ildefons Lima 11 128 0.086 1997–
2 Cristian Martínez 5 59 0.085 2009–
3 Óscar Sonejee 4 106 0.038 1997–2015
4 Jesús Lucendo 3 29 0.103 1996–2003
Emiliano González 3 37 0.081 1998–2003
7 Marc Rebés 2 30 0.067 2015–
Fernando Silva 2 51 0.039 2002–2013
Justo Ruiz 2 67 0.03 1998–2008
Juli Sánchez 2 73 0.027 1996–2019
Marc Pujol 2 84 0.024 2000–

Notes and references
  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  2. "Association information – Andorra". FIFA. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  3. "The Association – Andorra". UEFA. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  4. "Andorra – List of International Matches 1996–2002". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  5. "European Championship 2000". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  6. "World Cup 2002 qualifications". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  7. "European Championship 2004". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 25 June 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  8. "Soccer: Andorra scores its first World Cup victory". The New York Times. 14 October 2004. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  9. "Macedonia's coach offers resignation". Associated Press. Sports Illustrated. 14 October 2004. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  10. "World Cup 2006 qualifications". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  11. "European Championship 2008". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  12. "General info – Andorra". UEFA. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  13. "World Cup 2010 qualifications". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  14. "Euro 2012 qualifying tables". BBC. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  15. "La selecció d'Andorra dona per acabada una ratxa de 12 anys i 132 dies sense guanyar" (in Catalan). Bon Dia. 22 February 2017.
  16. "Andorra players shed tears of joy after first competitive win since 2004". ESPNFC.com. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  17. "Lima: 2017 almost too good to be true for Andorra". FIFA. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  18. "Tercera victòria d'Andorra en un any" [Andorra's third victory in a year] (in Catalan). Cadena SER. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  19. "Andorra 1–0 Moldova". UEFA. October 2019.
  20. "Estadi Comunal d Aixovall". Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  21. "European Championship 2008 detailed information". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  22. "World Cup 2010 qualifications detailed information". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  23. James Appell (8 September 2010). "It's raining... apples?". The Football Ramble. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  24. "FIFA Rankings – Andorra". FIFA. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  25. "Álvarez assumes Andorra mantle". UEFA.com. 2 February 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
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