A historic fixture is upon us, the 150th anniversary of England against Scotland. This fixture was first played in 1872 with a goalless draw as the end result.
Tuesday night’s friendly is a celebration of that event, although recent years have made this fixture anything but friendly.
Key Takeaways
· Scotland are on a run of 5 straight wins in their qualification run for Euro 2024
· England head into this fixture after a 1-1 draw with Ukraine
· This is the longest-running and oldest international fixture in the history of football
A fixture that has long been played out and has been incredibly competitive at times, both sides value this friendly match more than any other non-competitive fixture that comes up on their footballing calenders.
Scotland Form
Scotland sits atop Group A nine points clear of 2nd placed Spain, the Spaniards may have two games in hand, but this is an impressive start for Steve Clarke’s side.
They began their journey back in March, with a 3-0 win over Cyprus with goals from John McGinn and Scot McTominay, before shocking Spain with a two-nil win, where the Spaniards were unable to deal with McTominay’s physicality as be bagged both goals.
They followed this up with a 2-1 win over Norway and then another 2-0 victory against Georgia before their most recent fixture, the reverse fixture against Cyprus where they crushed them, 3-0.
England Form
As with many of their recent qualification campaigns, it has been revert to type for England, where they decimate lesser sides and look shaky against teams with more calibre. They began qualification with a very close 2-1 win over Italy before comfortably overcoming the Challenge of Ukraine, 2-0.
They really stepped into gear against Malta, winning 3-0 and poor North Macedonia were powerless to stop 7 goals going past them. Englands most recent fixture, a 1-1 draw with Ukraine was a lot closer than it looked statistically. Although the three lions dominated possession, they struggled to create many chances and looked vulnerable when being countered with pace.
Head-to-Head
As you would expect for being the oldest international fixture ever, the teams have played each other many times. There have been 41 victories for the Scots, 26 draws and 48 victories for England.
Recently however, the games have become less frequent and England have begun to pull away from their rivals, losing just one game in their last 6, that win for Scotland coming back in 1999.
The past two games have ended in draws, with nothing to show between the sides.
Team News
Gareth Southgate can boast a relatively full side for this fixture and has called up many of the big names, notable absentees however are Mason Mount, Tyrone Mings and deputy goalkeeper Nick Pope who are injured. The in-form Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse have all been dropped in favour of rotation.
Scotland will also field a mostly full-strength side, with the biggest omissions being Grant Hanley and the legendary Craig Gordon who will sit this one out.
Key Players
John McGinn and Scott McTominay have found the majority of Scotland’s goals this year and they will pose a real threat to England’s defence. Their strength in the spine continues with Billy Gilmour and Callum McGregor being key players in recent fixtures.
Captain and record scorer Harry Kane is a threat from anywhere on the pitch and young superstar Bukayo Saka can prove himself unstoppable when on form.
How to watch on TV or online
The match will be broadcast live for UK viewers on Channel 4.
Final Thoughts
As old as football itself, this great rivalry lends itself to speculation. With two draws being the end result in recent years, who is to say what the outcome will be from two teams in excellent form.
Int. Friendly Games