UEFA EURO 2020 - ENGLAND VS SCOTLAND PREVIEW

Scotland kick off their second UEFA EURO 2020 game with a crucial encounter against England. The two sides were drawn with each other in the same group at Euro 96 with Scotland suffering the most heart-breaking of defeats, one which ultimately scuppered our chances of progressing. This time around we again face The Auld Enemy at Wembley Stadium and will travel south, daring to dream once again and, as results under Steve Clarke have shown - while England remain the overwhelming favourites - the Scots have reason to believe. In our latest focus on each of our European Championship opponents we look at England’s recent form, key players, and past encounters with Scotland.

 When do Scotland play England

Scotland play England at Wembley in their second Group D match in the UEFA European Championships on Friday June 18, 2021. The game comes four days after Scotland’s opening group match against the Czech Republic at Hampden. Kick-off is at 8pm (UK time).

Recent form

England racked up four consecutive wins in the Nations League and World Cup qualifying matches which preceded the Euro 2020 warm-up friendlies. They were overwhelming favourites in all four games beating Iceland and San Marino 4-0 and 5-0 respectively and then beating Albania 2-0 away from home. The fourth game, a World Cup qualifier at home against Poland, turned out to be much tighter and was heading for a 1-1 draw until Harry Maguire scored the winner five minutes from time. There has been recent of a few chinks in the English armour and before setting off on the winning run of four, England lost two Nations League matches in a row. They had two men sent off in a 1-0 defeat to Denmark at Wembley and, the following month on November 15, were comprehensively beaten 2-0 in Belgium.

England's EURO 2020 campaign got off to the perfect start, with a 1-0 win over Croatia in their opening match. Raheem Sterling's strike in the 57th minute was enough to seal the victory, and a vital 3 points before their encounter with the Scots. 

Euro 2020 qualifying

England faced one of our other EURO 2020 Group D opponents during qualifying, the Czech Republic. The Czechs ultimately finished second in that qualifying group, which England topped with seven wins from eight matches. The English suffered just one defeat, losing 2-1 to the Czechs in Prague in October 2019. Harry Kane put England in front at the Sinobo Stadium before Czech defender, Jakub Brabec, equalised. Zdenek Ondrasek then came off the bench to make his international debut at 30 years of age and score a stunning winner five minutes from time. Aside from this defeat it would be fair to say that England were in cruise control during qualifying, scoring 37 and conceding just six in their eight matches.

Previous meetings

Scotland have played England 114 times since they met in the world’s first ever international football match in Partick on November 30 1872. Our recent history has been painful at points, with Don Hutchinson’s goal in 1999 sealing Scotland’s only win over ‘The Auld Enemy’ in the past 36 years. That run of 11 matches includes just two draws. However, overall, our record in the fixture is solid, winning 41, losing 48 and drawing 25. One particular game will be in peoples’ minds ahead of Euro 2020, the 2-0 defeat at Wembley where Gary McAllister missed from the penalty spot and Gazza scored one of the competition’s greatest ever goals at EURO ’96. It should be mentioned though that our last meeting, in 2017 at Hampden, ended 2-2 thanks to a Leigh Griffiths double.

In the dugout

Now 50 years of age, Gareth Southgate has amassed most of his managerial experience within the English FA set-up, first in a three-year spell as Under-21 boss between 2013 and 2016 before stepping up to take the senior job that year to take on the senior job. Aside from Alf Ramsay, who won the FIFA World Cup in 1966, Southgate stands alongside Bobby Robson and Terry Venables in a select group of England managers to reach the semi-finals of a major international competition, doing that in his first tournament - the 2018 FIFA World Cup. On taking on the role, Southgate was brave enough to drop a clutch of established internationalists to bring through a new generation of young players, many of whom he had worked with at U21 level. Several of those players are now established stars in his England squad. This appearance at the Euros will now doubt evoke memories of Euro 96, where Southgate played every minute of their matches as England, the host nation, reached the semi-finals. It was his penalty that was saved in the ensuing shoot out with Germany to knock England out of the competition.

One to watch

The inclusion of four right backs in his provisional squad for Euro 2020 provoked some debate in the English press, but Southgate is largely trusted to pick his own players and his selection was not a controversial one. This side is maturing nicely and has a clutch of players in their mid-Twenties who have amassed a wealth of experience. Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, at 26 years-of-age, is their most capped player (with 61, at time of writing). England also have a few players in their team who bring ‘overseas’ experience, in Atletico Madrid’s Kieran Trippier and Borussia Dortmund pair Jadon Sancho and 17-year-old Jude Bellingham, who has just been named Newcomer of the Season in his debut Bundesliga campaign. You get the feeling that it’s worth keeping an eye on Harry Kane this summer. His goal scoring record for club and country is astounding and will certainly have his eye on Wayne Rooney's record tally of 53 goals for England.