England v San Marino [EURO 2016 QUALIFICATION]

England welcome minnows San Marino to Wembley on Thursday night for their second 2016 European Championship qualifier.

With San Marino ranked joint 208th with Bhutan at the bottom of the FIFA World Rankings and having never won a competitive fixture, it should be a formality for the Three Lions, and is more of a matter of what the winning margin will be.

Among the 23 players of San Marino’s squad that arrived in London, only two can say that they earn their living playing football.

Their most celebrated player, the striker Andy Selva, has now retired from club football and coaches children in San Marino, but it is telling that at 38 he is still playing international football and is part of the current squad.

Coach Pierangelo Manzaroli oversaw arguably San Marino’s finest hour in international football when his Under-21 team beat Wales Under-21s at home last year, but hopes of a similar result at Wembley are no more than a distant dream.

Roy Hodgson will be hoping that his side continue the momentum from their impressive 2-0 victory in Switzerland.

England have not lost a qualifying match since a 1-0 defeat in Ukraine in 2009, winning 13 and drawing seven of their 20 games since then.

The Three Lions have also not lost a qualifier at Wembley since a 3-2 defeat against Croatia in 2007, winning 11 and drawing three of their 14 matches since then.

After a dismal World Cup, a dominant performance as well as a unanimous victory is a must for Hodgson, and against a side who have conceded 295 goals in qualifying matches, scoring just seven, anything else will be seen as somewhat of an embarrassment.

Team news

Fabian Delph sat out training on Tuesday and was feared to be a doubt but Hodgson, while remaining tight-lipped on final team selection, revealed on Wednesday that he had no injury worries.

Calum Chambers or Nathaniel Clyne are likely to start at right-back after Everton defender John Stones dropped out of the squad with an ankle injury. Hodgson could, however, opt to play James Milner there to give England another attacking option in what is likely to be a very one-sided encounter.

In-form Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck is set to lead the line alongside skipper Wayne Rooney, with Liverpool's Raheem Sterling expected to be given licence to roam behind the front two.