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Andorra national football team facts for kids

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This page is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Andorra women's national football team.
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Andorra
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Tricolors (The Tricolours)
Association Andorran Football Federation
(Federació Andorrana de Futbol)
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Koldo Álvarez
Captain Marc Pujol
Most caps Ildefons Lima (137)
Top scorer Ildefons Lima (11)
Home stadium Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella
FIFA code AND
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 132 Increase 1 (7 February 2019)
Highest 125 (September 2005)
Lowest 206 (December 2011)
Elo ranking
Current 180 Increase 8 (3 March 2019)
Highest 171 (February 2005, September 2005)
Lowest 193 (September 2015)
First international
 Andorra 1–6 Estonia 
(Andorra la Vella, Andorra; 13 November 1996)
Biggest win
 San Marino 0–3 Andorra 
(Serravalle, San Marino; 12 October 2021)
Biggest defeat
 Czech Republic 8–1 Andorra 
(Liberec, Czech Republic; 4 June 2005)
 Croatia 7–0 Andorra 
(Zagreb, Croatia; 7 October 2006)
 Portugal 7–0 Andorra 
(Lisbon, Portugal; 11 November 2020)
World Cup
Appearances 0
Best result 5th in Qualification Group (2022 qualifying)
European Championship
Appearances 0
Best result 5th in Qualification Group (2004 qualifying, 2020 qualifying, 2024 qualifying)

The Andorra men's 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).

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 won thirteen matches since becoming recognised by FIFA in 1996.

History

Though the Andorran Football Federation formed in 1994, 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. The national team played its first match against Estonia in Andorra La Vella and lost 6–1.

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. The team particularly struggled in away matches; each loss was by at least three goals. Andorra scored only three goals, two of which were penalties, and two of which were in the away matches. Andorra conceded 28 goals, and their biggest defeat of the qualifiers was a 6–1 away loss to Russia.

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

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. 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.

Andriy Shevchenko against Andorra
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. After the game, Macedonia coach Dragan Kanatlarovski resigned and called the game "a shameful outcome, a humiliation." Andorra also drew two matches, 0–0 in Macedonia and 0–0 at home against Finland.

In Euro 2008 qualifying, Andorra again lost every game. 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 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. In 2010 World Cup qualifying, Andorra lost all ten matches. 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.

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. The 2014 World Cup qualifying tournament was even more disastrous. Andorra lost all their matches while conceding 30 goals and not scoring.

Rikan free kick
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. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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.

On December 7, 2020, after the draw for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Andorra was given an opportunity to achieve further success in official competition as it was placed in Group I where it found among its five opponents San Marino, the lowest placed team in the last pot and which it has faced before that only once in a friendly match (away on February 22, 2017, for a 2–0 victory). Their other opponents were Albania (against whom they drew 2–2 away in Euro 2021 qualifying), Hungary (whom they beat at home 1–0 in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers), Poland and England. On September 2, 2021, Andorra achieved a 3rd success in the qualifiers of a World Cup, at home against San Marino (2–0). On October 12, 2021, Andorra achieved a 4th success in a World Cup qualifier, beating San Marino again in the return match (3–0). It was also a first in several respects: it is the largest Andorran victory in its history, but also the first time that the Pyrenean selection managed to score 3 goals in the same game and won an away match; finally it also succeeded for the first time in its history to sign 2 successes in the same qualifying phase and pocket 6 points. However, they lost all their games against their four other opponents and finished second to last in the group with 6 points, with a record of 2 wins and 8 losses.

On March 25, 2022, Andorra defeated St. Kitts and Nevis at home (1–0), recording its first win against a non-European team. Three days later, Andorra defeated another non-European side with another 1–0 win at home to Grenada. On June 10, 2022, in the 2022–23 edition of the UEFA Nations League, Andorra won at home against Liechtenstein (2–1), with Jesús Rubio scoring a spectacular goal with a 60-meter lob on the second Andorran goal, thus signing its first success in this competition for its third participation. This success also means that the Pyrenean team has achieved at least one victory in each of the official competitions in which it has taken part. On September 22, they beat Liechtenstein, 2–0, in Vaduz - this was their first away win in the Nations League. The Pyrenees team totaled 8 points at the end of this edition thanks to two home draws against Moldova (0–0) and the Latvia (1–1), finishing undefeated at home and losing only two away games against the Latvians and Moldovans, which is its best record in the group stage of any competition.

Stadium

Estadi Comunal Vella
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. 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.

Reputation

Andorra's lopsided win–loss record gives them a lowly reputation in world football. The nation has only won seven competitive fixtures, four World Cup qualifying matches against Macedonia in October 2004 and Hungary in June 2017, both by 1–0; San Marino in September and October 2021 by 2–0 at home and 3–0 away at Serravalle (their biggest ever win), a single European Championship qualifying match at home against Moldova in October 2019 by 1–0 and two UEFA Nations League matches against Liechtenstein in June and September 2022 by 2–1 at home and 2–0 away at Vaduz ; and six friendly games, three of them by 2–0 against Belarus in April 2000 and Albania in April 2002 at home and San Marino in February 2017 away, as well as three wins by 1–0 margin against Liechtenstein at neutral venues in March 2018 and against St. Kitts and Nevis and Grenada at home in March 2022.

With the fourth smallest population of any UEFA country, 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.

Kit suppliers

Kit provider Period
Germany Reusch 1996–2000
United States Reebok 1998–2004
Italy Diadora 2004–2006
Spain Joma 2006–2008
Germany Adidas 2008–2018
Italy Macron 2018–2022
Italy Errea 2022–present

Results and fixtures

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

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

      Win       Draw       Loss       Fixture

2023

2024

Manager history

  • Spain Isidre Codina (1996)
  • Brazil Manuel Miluir (1997–1999)
  • Spain David Rodrigo (1999–2009)
  • Andorra Koldo Álvarez (2010–present)

Players

Current squad

The following players were included in the squad for the 2024 FIFA Series friendly match against Bolivia on 25 March 2024.

Caps and goals correct as of 25 March 2024, after the match against Bolivia.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Josep Gómes (1985-12-03) 3 December 1985 (age 38) 84 0 Andorra FC Santa Coloma
13 1GK Xisco Pires (1998-01-25) 25 January 1998 (age 26) 3 0 Spain La Solana
2 2DF Eric de Pablos (1999-03-08) 8 March 1999 (age 25) 11 0 Andorra UE Santa Coloma
3 2DF Joel Guillén (2001-08-28) 28 August 2001 (age 23) 9 0 Spain Binéfar
5 2DF Max Llovera (1997-01-08) 8 January 1997 (age 27) 70 1 Spain San Cristóbal
15 2DF Moisés San Nicolás (1993-09-17) 17 September 1993 (age 31) 79 0 Andorra FC Santa Coloma
18 2DF Jesús Rubio (1994-09-09) 9 September 1994 (age 30) 43 1 Andorra Inter d'Escaldes
19 2DF Dacu (2001-05-16) 16 May 2001 (age 23) 1 0 Andorra UE Santa Coloma
21 2DF Marc García (1988-03-21) 21 March 1988 (age 36) 69 0 Andorra Ordino
22 2DF Christian García (1999-02-04) 4 February 1999 (age 25) 13 0 Andorra UE Santa Coloma
4 3MF Albert Reyes (1996-03-24) 24 March 1996 (age 28) 5 0 Andorra Ordino
6 3MF Éric Vales (2000-08-18) 18 August 2000 (age 24) 12 0 Iceland Grindavík
7 3MF Marc Pujol (captain) (1982-08-21) 21 August 1982 (age 42) 115 4 Andorra Atlètic d'Escaldes
8 3MF Xavier Vieira (1992-01-14) 14 January 1992 (age 32) 12 0 Andorra Pas de la Casa
17 3MF Joan Cervós (1998-02-24) 24 February 1998 (age 26) 55 1 Spain San Cristóbal
20 3MF João Pedro (1996-07-17) 17 July 1996 (age 28) 2 0 Andorra Pas de la Casa
23 3MF Jordi Rubio (1987-11-01) 1 November 1987 (age 37) 66 0 Andorra Pas de la Casa
9 4FW Aarón Sánchez (1996-06-05) 5 June 1996 (age 28) 34 0 Andorra Ordino
10 4FW Ricard Fernández (1999-03-19) 19 March 1999 (age 25) 40 2 Slovenia Krka
11 4FW Izan Fernández (2001-10-03) 3 October 2001 (age 23) 7 0 Spain Azuqueca
16 4FW Àlex Martínez (1998-10-10) 10 October 1998 (age 26) 53 1 Spain La Solana

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 Iker Álvarez (2001-07-25) 25 July 2001 (age 23) 22 0 Spain Villarreal B v.  Israel, 21 November 2023
DF Kiko Pomares (1998-09-21) 21 September 1998 (age 26) 8 0 Spain Marchamalo v.  Israel, 21 November 2023
DF Bryan Olivera (2004-10-05) 5 October 2004 (age 20) 1 0 Spain Calamocha v.  Israel, 21 November 2023
DF Aleix Viladot (1997-06-26) 26 June 1997 (age 27) 1 0 Andorra Ordino v.  Romania, 15 October 2023
DF Ildefons Lima RET (1979-12-10) 10 December 1979 (age 44) 137 11 Retired v.  Switzerland, 12 September 2023
DF Albert Alavedra (1999-02-26) 26 February 1999 (age 25) 28 0 North Macedonia Vardar v.  Switzerland, 12 September 2023
MF Márcio Vieira (1984-10-10) 10 October 1984 (age 40) 127 2 Portugal Marco v.  Israel, 21 November 2023
MF Marc Vales (1990-04-04) 4 April 1990 (age 34) 92 5 Spain Europa v.  Israel, 21 November 2023
MF Marc Rebés (1994-07-03) 3 July 1994 (age 30) 63 3 Andorra Pas de la Casa v.  Israel, 21 November 2023
MF Ludovic Clemente (1986-05-09) 9 May 1986 (age 38) 46 0 Andorra UE Santa Coloma v.  Israel, 19 June 2023
FW Jordi Aláez (1998-01-23) 23 January 1998 (age 26) 58 3 Andorra FC Santa Coloma v.  South Africa, 21 March 2024
FW Víctor Bernat (1987-05-17) 17 May 1987 (age 37) 20 1 Andorra Penya Encarnada v.  Israel, 21 November 2023
FW Ot Remolins (2004-02-25) 25 February 2004 (age 20) 1 0 Spain Collado Villalba v.  Israel, 21 November 2023
FW Albert Rosas (2002-08-19) 19 August 2002 (age 22) 15 4 Spain Betis B v.  Switzerland, 12 September 2023
Notes
  • INJ = Withdrew due to injury
  • PRE = Preliminary squad / standby
  • RET = Retired from the national team

Records

Players in bold are still active with Andorra.
Andorra national football team - Ildefons Lima (001)
Ildefons Lima is Andorra's top goalscorer and their most-capped player

Most appearances

Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Ildefons Lima 137 11 1997–2023
2 Márcio Vieira 127 2 2005–present
3 Marc Pujol 115 4 2000–present
4 Óscar Sonejee 106 4 1997–2015
5 Marc Vales 92 5 2008–present
6 Josep Ayala 84 1 2002–2017
Josep Gómes 84 0 2006–present
8 Manolo Jiménez 79 1 1998–2012
Moisés San Nicolás 79 0 2012–present
10 Koldo Álvarez de Eulate 78 0 1998–2009

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Ildefons Lima 11 137 0.08 1997–2023
2 Cristian Martínez 5 77 0.065 2009–present
Marc Vales 92 0.054 2008–present
4 Albert Rosas 4 15 0.267 2021–present
Óscar Sonejee 106 0.038 1997–2015
Marc Pujol 115 0.035 2000–present
7 Jesús Lucendo 3 29 0.103 1996–2003
Emiliano González 37 0.081 1998–2003
Jordi Aláez 58 0.052 2016–present
Marc Rebés 63 0.048 2015–present

Competition records

FIFA World Cup record

Year Final tournament Qualification
Round Pld W D L GF GA Pos. Pld W D L GF GA
1930 to 1994 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
1998 Did not enter Did not enter
South Korea Japan 2002 Did not qualify 6th 10 0 0 10 5 36
Germany 2006 7th 12 1 2 9 4 34
South Africa 2010 6th 10 0 0 10 3 39
Brazil 2014 6th 10 0 0 10 0 30
Russia 2018 6th 10 1 1 8 2 23
Qatar 2022 5th 10 2 0 8 8 24
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030
Saudi Arabia 2034
Totals 0/7 – – – – – –
—
 !62 4 3 55 22 186

Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks; correct as of 31 March 2021 after the match against Hungary.

UEFA European Championship record

Year Final tournament Qualification
Round Pld W D L GF GA Pos. Pld W D L GF GA
France 1960 to England 1996 Did not enter Did not enter
Belgium Netherlands 2000 Did not qualify 6th 10 0 0 10 3 28
Portugal 2004 5th 8 0 0 8 1 18
Austria Switzerland 2008 7th 12 0 0 12 2 42
Poland Ukraine 2012 6th 10 0 0 10 1 25
France 2016 6th 10 0 0 10 4 36
European Union 2020 5th 10 1 1 8 3 20
Germany 2024 5th 10 0 2 8 3 20
United Kingdom Republic of Ireland 2028 To be determined To be determined
Italy Turkey 2032
Totals 0/19 – – – – – –
—
 !70 1 3 66 17 189

Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks; correct as of 17 November 2019 after the match against Turkey.

UEFA Nations League record

UEFA Nations League record
Season Division Group Pld W D L GF GA P/R Rank
2018–19 D 1 6 0 4 2 2 9 Same position 53rd
2020–21 D 1 6 0 2 4 1 11 Same position 55th
2022–23 D 1 6 2 2 2 6 7 Same position 53rd
2024–25 D 2 To be determined
Totals 18 2 8 8 9 27 53rd

Head-to-head record

Key
Positive balance (more Wins)
Neutral balance (Wins = Losses)
Negative balance (more Losses)
Last match updated was against Bolivia on 25 March 2024. Goal difference used to determine placement if results totals of two opponents are identical.

Notes:

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

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Andorra para niños

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