England vs. San Marino: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview

After coming through what looked to be the toughest game of their European Championship qualifying campaign with distinction, England are gearing up for their easiest one, as they welcome minnows San Marino to Wembley.

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The Three Lions played superbly to win their opening qualifying match in Switzerland 2-0, and with that victory, their qualification for the 2016 tournament should be relatively straightforward. Up against San Marino—a team that has only ever won one game in their history—they’ll be expected to rack up the goal difference.

If you’re all about the goals, then this one is definitely a clash for you. To ensure you don’t miss any of what should be a hatful of strikes, here are all the details you need on where to catch this Euro 2016 qualifier on television and online.

Date: October 9 

Time: 7:45 p.m. (BST), 2:45 p.m. (ET)

Live Stream: ITV Player (UK), Fox Sports Go (U.S.)

TV Info: ITV (UK), Fox Sports 2 (U.S.)

Happy Memories

Although San Marino harbour a reputation for being hammered out of sight, their greatest footballing moment arguably came against the Three Lions. That was when they scored the fastest goal in the history of FIFA World Cup qualification courtesy of Davide Gualtieri:

They eventually went on to lose 7-1 to England, but it was a moment Gualtieri cherishes to this day, per Chris Bevan of BBC Sport:

"

I will never forget that moment.

I had dreamt about it but I never thought it would happen. It was so hard for us to score against anybody, let alone a team as big as England.

"

Indeed, if they were to net at Wembley, then you suspect that would eclipse Gualtieri’s moment as the finest in the nation’s footballing history. But it looks unlikely, as head coach Pierangalo Manzaroli only has a population of circa 31,000 to choose from, meaning members of the squad are part-time players.

Therefore, England should run out especially comfortable victors. But with a few fresh faces in Roy Hodgson’s squad, expect this game to be taken very seriously indeed.

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Southampton’s Nathaniel Clyne has been called up to the senior squad for the first time, and with no outstanding right-back candidate in this England squad, he’ll be hoping to put in a strong performance to help nail down a regular place. Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe the Saints full-back's international call-up has been a long time coming:

For the likes of Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck, this is a game in which they should be looking to fill their boots. In the aforementioned clash with San Marino 21 years ago, Ian Wright scored four goals against the perennial whipping boys, and for Rooney—who is eight goals behind all-time leading England goalscorer Sir Bobby Charlton—a clash against the minnows represents a chance to push himself up to the pinnacle of those coveted standings.

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It’ll be interesting to see if Hodgson decides to experiment with the team or goes with a full-strength side. On the one hand, any combination of players England put out should be good enough to beat San Marino, and a few changes would give the likes of Clyne, Jonjo Shelvey and Calum Chambers the chance to accrue some much-needed international experience.

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But if San Marino can muster some sort of plucky resistance against an unfamiliar England XI, Hodgson could find himself coming in for some real stick. With that in mind—not to mention the England boss’ conservative nature—expect the Three Lions to be at full strength come kick-off at Wembley.

Subsequently, the odds of a double-figure victory are pretty short, as noted here by bet365:

In terms of a score prediction, these matches are often much more difficult to call than evenly matched games. Often when a side goes four or five up against San Marino they ease off, but every now and then you get a whopping scoreline, as was the case when Germany ran out 13-0 winners against the minnows in 2007.

England played San Marino in World Cup qualifiers two years ago and won the games 8-0 and 5-0. So expect another comparable scoreline to the ones we witnessed in the previous matches between the two and for a few inexperienced players to get their chance to shine.

Prediction: England 7-0 San Marino