Andorra national football team

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.

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]

Andorra's lopsided win-loss record gives them a lowly reputation in world football. The nation has only won four competitive fixtures, World Cup qualifying matches against Macedonia in 2004 and Hungary in 2017, both by 1–0; San Marino in 2021 by 2–0 and a European Championship qualifying match against Moldova in 2019 by 1–0; 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]

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]

• Isidre Codina (1996)
• Manuel Miluir (1997–1999)
• David Rodrigo (1999–2009)
• Koldo Álvarez de Eulate (2010–)

Last match updated was against Albania on 15 November 2021. Goal difference used to determine placement if results totals of two opponents are identical.

Team	From	To	P	W	D	L	Win %[lower-alpha 1]	GF	GA	GD
Estonia	1996	2016	12	0	0	12	0%	5	28	–23
Latvia	1997	2020	9	0	3	6	16.67%	1	19	–18
Armenia	1998	2011	8	0	1	7	6.25%	2	20	–18
Albania	2000	2021	7	1	1	5	21.43%	4	11	–7
Iceland	1999	2019	7	0	0	7	0%	0	18	–18
Moldova	2011	2019	6	1	1	4	25%	3	8	–5
North Macedonia	2004	2011	6	1	1	4	25%	1	9	–8
Hungary	2012	2021	6	1	0	5	20%	3	17	–14
Russia	1999	2011	6	0	0	6	0%	2	21	–19
Netherlands	2001	2013	6	0	0	6	0%	0	21	–21
Croatia	2003	2009	6	0	0	6	0%	0	24	–24
Portugal	1999	2020	6	0	0	6	0%	1	29	–28
Azerbaijan	1998	2016	5	0	4	1	40%	1	2	–1
Faroe Islands	1999	2020	5	0	2	3	20%	0	4	–4
Republic of Ireland	2001	2021	5	0	0	5	0%	3	15	–12
Cyprus	2000	2015	5	0	0	5	0%	3	17	–14
France	1998	2019	5	0	0	5	0%	0	14	–14
Belarus	2000	2009	4	1	0	3	25%	4	11	–7
Malta	2000	2020	4	0	3	1	37.5%	3	5	–2
Kazakhstan	2008	2018	4	0	1	3	12.5%	2	11	–9
Turkey	2013	2019	4	0	0	4	0%	0	10	–10
Israel	2006	2015	4	0	0	4	0%	2	14	–12
Belgium	2002	2015	4	0	0	4	0%	1	14	–13
Romania	2004	2013	4	0	0	4	0%	1	15	–14
Ukraine	1998	2009	4	0	0	4	0%	0	17	–17
England	2006	2021	4	0	0	4	0%	0	25	–25
San Marino	2017	2021	3	3	0	0	100%	7	0	+7
Poland	2012	2021	3	0	0	3	0%	1	11	–10
Liechtenstein	2012	2018	2	1	0	1	50%	1	1	0
Cape Verde	2018	2020	2	0	1	1	25%	1	2	–1
Georgia	2018	2018	2	0	1	1	25%	1	4	–3
Finland	2004	2005	2	0	1	1	25%	0	3	–3
Slovakia	2011	2011	2	0	0	2	0%	0	2	–2
Wales	2014	2015	2	0	0	2	0%	1	4	–3
Bulgaria	2002	2003	2	0	0	2	0%	1	5	–4
Switzerland	2016	2017	2	0	0	2	0%	1	5	–4
Lithuania	1998	2009	2	0	0	2	0%	1	7	–6
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2015	2015	2	0	0	2	0%	0	6	–6
Czech Republic	2005	2005	2	0	0	2	0%	1	12	–11
China PR	2004	2004	1	0	1	0	50%	0	0	0
Gibraltar	2021	2021	1	0	1	0	50%	0	0	0
United Arab Emirates	2018	2018	1	0	1	0	50%	0	0	0
Equatorial Guinea	2015	2015	1	0	0	1	0%	0	1	–1
Indonesia	2014	2014	1	0	0	1	0%	0	1	–1
Qatar	2017	2017	1	0	0	1	0%	0	1	–1
Saint Kitts and Nevis	2015	2015	1	0	0	1	0%	0	1	–1
Gabon	2003	2003	1	0	0	1	0%	0	2	–2
Brazil	1998	1998	1	0	0	1	0%	0	3	–3
Spain	2004	2004	1	0	0	1	0%	0	4	–4
TOTAL	1996	2021	186	9	23	154	11.02%	58	474	–416

Notes:

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

As of 15 November 2021[27]

Players in bold are still active with Andorra.

Most capped players # Player Caps Goals Career 1 Ildefons Lima 133 11 1997– 2 Márcio Vieira 110 0 2005– 3 Óscar Sonejee 106 4 1997–2015 4 Marc Pujol 99 4 2000– 5 Josep Ayala 84 1 2002–2017 6 Manolo Jiménez 79 1 1998–2012 7 Koldo Álvarez de Eulate 78 0 1998–2009 Marc Vales 78 5 2008– Josep Gómes 78 0 2006– 10 Cristian Martínez 77 5 2009–

Top goalscorers # Player Goals Caps Ratio Career 1 Ildefons Lima 11 133 0.083 1997– 2 Cristian Martínez 5 77 0.065 2009– Marc Vales 5 78 0.064 2008– 4 Marc Pujol 4 99 0.04 2000– Óscar Sonejee 4 106 0.038 1997–2015 6 Jesús Lucendo 3 29 0.103 1996–2003 Emiliano González 3 37 0.081 1998–2003 Marc Rebés 3 44 0.068 2015– 9 Fernando Silva 2 51 0.039 2002–2013 Justo Ruiz 2 67 0.03 1998–2008

Ildefons Lima, top goalscorer and the most-capped player

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Andorra national football team.

• Official website
• RSSSF archive of most capped players, highest goalscorers and coaches
• National Football Teams
• UEFA
• FIFA