The England men’s national team are set to play their next home World Cup qualifier away from Wembley Stadium with Villa Park pencilled in to host the Three Lions' clash with Andorra in September.
The decision to move England’s next match away from the capital is in keeping with the FA’s desire to allow other parts of the country to see the national team in action. Over the past five years, St James’ Park, Old Trafford, Molineux, and the Riverside Stadium have all hosted England matches.
England’s last home match, a friendly against Senegal, was also played away from the national stadium with the City Ground in Nottingham hosting the match.
However, the Three Lions didn't have the best of times at the City Ground since they lost 3-1 to the inspired Senegal team. England will be back at Wembley for their friendly match with Wales in October.
Speaking about his excitement of managing the national team at Villa Park, Thomas Tuchel said:
“We are excited to play at Villa Park, another stadium full of history. I know from my own visits to the stadium this season that it is capable of creating an outstanding atmosphere and is located close to St. George’s Park, which is a positive for our preparation. We hope to be able to generate another special atmosphere and create a memorable occasion for all fans.”
/https%3A%2F%2Ffootballgroundguide.com%2Fapp%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F03%2FEngland-match-at-Villa-Park.jpg "Three Lions at Aston Villa: List of England matches played at Villa Park 1")
Previous England matches at Villa Park
The clash with Andorra in September will be the first time that England have played at Villa Park since Sven-Goran Eriksson's side faced the Netherlands in a friendly in 2005. On that occasion, the two sides played out a bore 0-0 draw so it’s not much of a surprise that the Three Lions haven't returned since.
However, there is now more enthusiasm around the national team than there was back then so excitement should be in the air in the Midlands when Thomas Tuchel and his team arrive this Autumn.
The home of Aston Villa is the biggest stadium in Birmingham and was used on more than one occasion in the period between 2000 and 2007 when the new Wembley Stadium was being built in place of the old one.
England's fixture with Andorra in September will take place at Villa Park 📈#AVFC | ✍️ @EnglandOnOurWay pic.twitter.com/0TABMqsn9q
— Aston Villa Statto (@AVFCStatto) February 28, 2025
Old Trafford was used for the biggest England matches during that period with Villa Park only selected for three matches, all of which were international friendlies. Prior to that period in the early to mid-2000s, Villa Park hadn’t been used for international fixtures since the 1950s.
In recent years, a different midlands stadium has been preferred by the FA for England fixtures with Molineux, the home of Wolverhampton Wanderers, selected to host two matches in June 2022 as part of the Three Lions’ UEFA Nations League campaign.
However, if things had gone differently, then Villa Park would have hosted England’s final Euro 2020 warm-up match in June 2020 against Romania. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic saw the match cancelled.
Full list of England matches at Villa Park
The full list of England matches played at Villa Park is as follows:
- England 2-1 Scotland (08/04/1899)
- England 2-2 Scotland (03/05/1902)
- England 0-1 Scotland (08/04/1922)
- England 1-0 Wales (10/11/1948)
- England 2-0 Republic of Ireland (14/11/1951)
- England 2-2 Wales (26/11/1958)
- England 3-0 Spain (28/02/2001)
- England 1-1 Portugal (07/09/2002)
- England 0-0 Netherlands (09/02/2005)
England's win percentage away from Wembley
England have only won four of their nine matches played at Villa Park, which might not fill Thomas Tuchel with too much confidence ahead of September's World Cup qualifier. However, given that they are facing Andorra, you would hope the Three Lions boost their Villa Park record to five in ten.
How does England's win percentage of 44.4% at Villa Park stack up against their win percentage at other club stadiums?*
- Anfield – 7/8 (87.5%)
- White Hart Lane – 4/5 (80%)
- Highbury – 9/12 (75%)
- St James' Park – 6/8 (75%)
- Old Trafford – 12/18 (66.6%)
- Molineux – 4/6 (66.6%)
- Goodison Park – 7/11 (63.6%)
- Bramall Lane – 3/5 (60%)
- The Oval – 5/10 (50%)
- Villa Park – 4/9 (44.4%)
*Minimum five matches played.
As we can see, Anfield is the most fortuitus stadium for the English national team since they've won 87.5% of their matches on this Liverpool ground. Meanwhile, other Liverpool stadium Goodison Park has a lower percentage, but it's still a positive one.
Given that Everton's new stadium is ready for the 2025-26 season, we will likely see England play at the Bramley-Moore Dock ground sooner rather than later, especially since this stadium will have enough capacity (around 53,000) to satisfy even the matches with the biggest demand.