updated 9:43 p.m. ET Sept. 4, 2008

New coaches of England, Italy and Spain face relatively week opponents Saturday when most European nations start qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

In his first official match as England's coach, Fabio Capello leads his team against Andorra, just 182nd in the FIFA rankings. Capello was hired to replace Steve McClaren after England failed to qualify for this year's European Championship.

"The hurt will stay with the players for a long time and it's important we learn from that," midfielder Gareth Barry said Thursday. "It's a new campaign for England and everyone in the squad is looking forward to getting off to a good start."

The match will be played at Barcelona, Spain, where England was booed after a 0-0 first half against Andorra during a European Championship qualifier in March 2007. The Three Lions won that one 3-0.

"They get all the bodies behind the ball, and no matter who they are, they are tough to break down as we experienced last time," Barry said. "That is something we can learn from."

England, which went 3-1-1 in exhibitions under Capello, is missing injured midfielder Steven Gerrard and forward Michael Owen, who was bypassed. After Andorra, England faces a tougher test next Wednesday when it plays at Croatia, the nation that eliminated the English from the Euros with a 3-2 win at Wembley last November.

Defending world champion Italy plays at Cyprus, its first official match since losing to Spain on penalty kicks in the Euro quarterfinals. That defeat led to coach Roberto Donadoni being replaced by Marcello Lippi, who led the Azzurri to their fourth World Cup title in 2006.

"Lippi has the same charisma and the same determination as two years ago," Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro said. "We know that we have to qualify for the next tournament as defending world champions and we will have more responsibility."

Italy played a 2-2 tie against Austria in an exhibition last month, its first game following Lippi's return. Captain Fabio Cannavaro is back after missing the Euros because of an ankle injury.

Spain, coming off its first Euro title since 1964, will be missing injured forward Fernando Torres (torn hamstring) and midfielder David Silva (ankle) for home qualifiers against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday and Armenia four days later. Under new coach Vicente del Bosque, Spain extended its unbeaten streak to 23 games with a 3-0 victory at Denmark last month.

"We want to give our best and change our mindset, because while the European Championship was very nice, it is already gone and we need to concentrate on the present," Spain midfielder Marcos Senna said.

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After finishing third at the 2006 World Cup and second at Euro 2008, Germany opens qualifying at Liechtenstein without injured captain Michael Ballack, Torsten Frings and Per Mertesacker. France, which failed to win a game at the Euros, will be without injured midfielder Patrick Vieira when it opens at Austria.

"There is an element of revenge after the disillusion of the Euros. We have to give much more than we did in the past," France winger Samir Nasri said. "Every success is based on defensive solidity, but you should not forget the attacking strengths of this team."

Georgia's home match against Ireland was moved to Mainz, Germany. FIFA ordered it played at neutral site following last month's war with Russia.

"I and many of my teammates continue to ask ourselves why this decision was taken," Georgia captain Kakha Kaladze was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport. "There is no civil war in Georgia. We are not dangerous. What would happen if we played in the Tbilisi stadium? Nothing. It would only be a festival for thousands of people that are suffering."

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