After an uninspiring start to proceedings, England took the lead in the 25th minute as a Noni Madueke cross was inadvertently turned into his own net by Christian Garcia to break the deadlock.

Boasting 83 per cent of possession, England had spent much of the second half camped on the edge of Andorra's box, and Declan Rice made it count when he headed home in the 67th minute from a pinpoint Reece James cross.

Elliot Anderson's Three Lions debut was marked with a starting berth in what was a frustrating game for England, which was unable to translate its dominance and territory into many meaningful chances.

Moments after coming on, Anderson's former Newcastle United team-mate Anthony Gordon missed a golden opportunity to make it three after skewering a goal-bound header off his shoulder.

One positive for Tuchel, though, was an impressive debut from midfielder Anderson, who looked assured and slick, albeit against opposition far inferior to what he normally faces in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest.

"I think he passed the test," Tuchel said, hinting that Anderson would start again in Serbia. "He was a bit nervous in camp but he had a very good game."

More accustomed to cantering into tournaments but still without a major trophy since its 1966 FIFA World Cup win, England remains unbeaten in its past 35 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with 27 of those won.

Tuchel said England would try to "prove a point" against tougher opposition in Serbia, which beat Latvia 1-0 in its qualifier on Sunday (AEST).

Serbia is England's main rival in the five-team group, with seven points from three games. The group winner qualifies automatically for the new 48-team tournament, while the runner-up will go into a play-off.

"I am absolutely convinced we are on the right path," Tuchel added. "Today it was a good performance, a deserved result, we should have won with more goals. I’m okay with that. We take more positives than negatives."

Andorra is bottom of the group after five defeats.

Coach Koldo Alvarez, whose team held England to a 1-0 win in the corresponding fixture in Andorra in June, was proud of the performance but disappointed at the poor marking that left Rice unchallenged for his headed goal.

"For the first goal, everyone can make a mistake, but the second one, we’ve been working hard all week, that should not happen," he said.

"I have to congratulate my players, because I think we have played quite well. We know it’s difficult, but we try and improve every time. We know that even giving 100% like today, sometimes it’s not enough, but this is how we go forward."

England sits top of Group K with a 100 per cent record ahead of its game away against Serbia next week, while Andorra remains bottom of the group.