Here’s Daniel Taylor’s match report from Wembley:
And Ewan Murray’s verdict on Gordon Strachan and Scotland:
Full-time: England 3-0 Scotland
Three sharp finishes enabled England to take advantage of shoddy Scottish defending. Scotland, who pressed England well and passed better than the hosts in the first half, had chances to score and really rattle England but they fluffed them. Neither side showed enough quality to suggest they’ll be challenging for the World Cup but the result means England are closing in on the tournament. Scotland, meanwhile, are second from bottom in the group and may soon be searching for a new manager. Strachan’s approach to this game was good, mind
Updated
90+1 min: Walker plays a ropey back pass, giving a sniff of a chance to Griffiths, who’s chopped down from behind by Rooney. That’s a booking for Rooney and proof that England are not good enough to pose.
89 min: ITV choose Lallana as their man of the match, with honourable mentions for Walker and Rose. Can’t argue with that. I’d give a nod to Sturridge, too.
Updated
86 min: A touch, a palpable touch! After prolonged English knock-about play, Scotland get a toe to the ball, putting it out for a throw-in to England.
83 min: England are showing a disgraceful lack of bloodthirstiness here. Scotland are beaten and dispirited, England should be going all guns blazing to inflict more pain on their auld enemy. But they’re should faffing about. Which, come to think of it, must be more galling for the Scots. So fair enough.
Updated
Scotland substitution: Ritchie on, Snodgrass off.
80 min: Freekick to England. Thirty yards out and nearly dead central. Dier toys with the idea of paying tribute to Hotshot Hamish but eventually elects to try a delicate curler towards the top corner. It hits the wall and goes behind.
Scotland substitution: Paterson on, Anya off. The Derby County reserve did reasonably well as an experimental right-back.
79 min: With Slovakia and Slovenia also winning at the moment, Scotland could fall to fifth in the group today, above only Malta.
78 min: Scotland get caught in a state of confusion outside their own box. Lallana nicks the ball and slips it through to Sterling inside the area. Surrounded by Scots he tries to thread the ball through to Vardy, who’s lurking six yards from goal. But the pass is overhit and Scotland are let off.
Updated
76 min: England are cruising now. The time for exploiting their mental fragility has long since passed and Scotland now have to watch them swagger.
England substitution: Vardy on, Sturridge off.
71 min: A fine move by England culminates with Henderson playing a wicked curling pass across the face of goal. Sterling runs on to it and only has to tap it in from two yards ... but he lifts it over the bar! That’s Scottish-style finishing or, to be fair, not untypical of Sterling, an otherwise wonderful player.
70 min: England, as if managed by Pep Southgate, again play themselves into trouble by trying to pick a way past Scottish pressers.
67 min: England threaten a fourth, Lallana canters down the left and clips a dainty cross towards Rooney at the near post. But Rooney couldn’t adjust his body to apply a killer touch.
Scotland substitution: McArthur on, Morrison off. “It’s not the misses, the comedy defending, the lack of quality or that strip,” sobs Tony Reekie. “It’s getting beaten by three crosses by a team so ordinary. Oh, and not playing Burke, the only spark of light we have.” That about sums it up.
64 min: Rose lunges at Snodgrass at the edge of the area. He goes through the player, gets the top of the ball and then catches Snodgrass again on the other leg. That’s reckless by any measure and should be a penalty. The ref sees things differently.
Updated
GOAL! England 3-0 Scotland (Cahill 61)
All too easy. Rooney curled in a perfect corner from the left. Cahill met it on the run at the near post - getting the jump on Hanley - and sends a powerful flicked header into the net. Scotland have lost the game, it’s just a question now of how much face they lose.
Updated
60 min: Don’t know what Strachan is waiting for. Scotland need something new up front. Burke fits the bill.
59 min: Walker hoists a high curling cross over from the right. Rooney collects it way beyond the far post and hooks it back across the face of goal. Hanley does well to scoop it away to safety.
57 min: Forrest catches Cahill doing a bad Beckenbauer impression, so the centreback hauls him down. Another easy yellow card decision for the ref.
55 min: Scotland are still passing better than England. At least they were until one was misplaced and Griffiths lunged at it and caught Rose. That’s a yellow card to go with his pink shirt. (Actually, for what it’s worth, I think that pink and black number is quite sharp). “No Liverpool players, no party - henderson will be next,” trumpets Harry Palmer. Careful, you don’t want to start sounding like West Ham fans.
Updated
52 min: Another decent move by Scotland - neat passing and smart movement around the box. Morrison ends up dashing into the box to receive a pass and get off a shot. On target, at least, but too gentle to worry Hart. Finishing has been the key difference between the sides.
GOAL! England 2-0 Scotland (Lallana 51)
Another expert header, this time from Lallana, who guides it downward into the net from nine yards after an excellent burst to the byline and cross by Rose.
Updated
49 min: Anya robs the ball off Rooney deep in Scottish territory. Then he skedaddles forward to launch a counter-attack. A fine move develops, as Wallace provides an option on the left, receives the ball and hurtles down the flank. He crosses towards Griffiths, who cunnignly lets it run to Forrest, who takes one good touch and then ... drags his shots wide from 16 yards! A great move, another chance wasted!
Updated
47 min: England’s attempts to play their way out of from the back have frequently been pitiful. Scottish pressing once makes them cough up possession easily, Cahill donking the ball out of play as he tried to tickle it down the line.
46 min: No personnel changes during the break.
“Not checked the table but guessing we’ll be near bottom as it stands,” sighs Simon McMahon. “Strexit?” My money’d be on 1-1 at this stage.
Half-time: England 1-0 Scotland
The half petered out quite untidily after a bright start and a relatively messy but exciting middle, which featured a fine goal by Sturridge, by far the best thing England have done all game. Scotland remain well in it because they have shown their capacity to unsettle England, whose passing has often been atrocious. But the Scots have yet to show any sign of sharpness up front, whereas England look threatening when they manage to cobble together moves and get as far as the opposing box. The men on the bench could yet have a big say in how this ends. Burke’s time has to be close.
Updated
43 min: Sloppy all round. “Hanley’s record at attacking set pieces so far is: fouls conceded: 2; free headers stuffed up: 1. Probably best sending someone else up next time.” Reckon that’s why England don;t appear to be bothering to mark him?
41 min: Save for some flashes of skill from Sterling and Sturridge, this has been low-quality fare. But it’s taut, feisty and engrossing like a family tiff. And the result is still far from certain.
Updated
39 min: The Scottish fans still believe. Another loud rendition of Flower of Sotland forms the soundtrack to another freekick delivery from the left by Snodgrass. But Hanley fouls before he can meet it so now England have a freekick.
36 min: Elsewhere in this group, Slovakia are mauling Lithuania 3-0, and Malta are holding Slovenia at 0-0.
34 min: Rose races into the box in a bid to get on the end of a clipped pass. He gets past Snodgrass near the byline... and then falls to the ground. Everyone looks to the ref to see what he makes of it. If there was contact it was minimal and unintentional. No penalty.
Updated
32 min: Fletcher dummies Rooney and then tries to place a shot into the top corner from 20 yards. He’s misses by about six yards. But Scotland’s response to falling behind has been encouraging: England are definitely vulnerable, it’s just a question of whether Scotland can finish sharply and choose wisely around the box. And, of course, avoid conceding more goals.
Updated
30 min: Rooney gives the ball away on the halfway line after being shunted, then he turns to the ref and pleads for freekick. No dice. Meanwhile, Griffiths hurries forward with the ball and Scotland have a two-on-two. Snodgrass peels away to the left in anticipation of bring played through ... but Griffiths goes for a place in the history books and attempts to rifle one past both defenders and the goalkeeper from 25 yards. The idea was fanciful, the execution dreadful.
Updated
27 min: Hanley loses his marker during the jostling before the corner ... and the ball leads right on his head. Can he plant it into the net from 10 yards? No! He completely botches his header and send the ball high and wide. There were bodies in front of him so it wasn’t an open goal but it sure was a great chance.
Updated
26 min: Snodgrass flights another freekick into the English box, this time from the left. After a bit of pingpong it breaks to Griffiths, who lets fly with his left foot from the edge of the area. Stones stands tall and turns it behind for a corner.
GOAL! England 1-0 Sotland (Sturridge 23)
A lovely headed finish by the striker! A shot by Sterling was blocked by Hanley around the penalty spot but bounced out to the right, where Walker arrived to take on cute touch and fire in a cross at about chest height. Sturridge stops and twists brilliantly to turn it past the keeper from six yards!
Updated
21 min: A simply dumb foul by Berra on Sterling - a shove in the back after the winger had offloaded the ball - offers England a freekick about 23 yards out, a little to the right. Rooney attempts to curl it around the wall but the last man - Hanley - heads it out for a corner.
Updated
19 min: Freekick to England wide on the right. Rooney deliveries. No England player in the box manages to get a touch to it, so Henderson has to scamper all the way over to the far touchline to retrieve. Hanley heads his cross away.
16 min: It’s gone scrappy. Stones is determined to pass at his own pace regardless, and on a couple of occasions he has been perilously close to being dispossessed in a dangerous area. You can’t help thinking there’s an accident waiting to happen there.
13 min: England push Scotland back for the first time by increasing the pace of their passing. Suddenly it’s Scotland who look skittish in defence. And England appeal for a penalty when Sterling wins a header in the box and gets clumped by Wallace. The ref is having none of it, deciding it was a legitimate challenge for the ball and, besides, there was no way Sterling was going to retrieve the ball
10 min: Lallana tries to twist his way past Fletcher mid-way inside his own half. Fletcher read his intention and nicked the ball off him but couldn’t keep hold of it. But this has been a heartening start for the visitors: they’re making England look slow and scruffy. Yes, England are capable of doing that by themselves but let’s give Scotland some credit here.
Updated
8 min: Snodgrass curls in another freekick from the right. Rose heads it clear. England counter-attack, forming their first passing combination of the match. Anya puts an end to it by dispossessing Lallana.
7 min: England have not settled at all yet - because Scotland refuses to let them. They’re forcing errors by the defenders who seems as flaky as Strachan suspected.
5 min: Snodgrass curls in a freekick from the right touchline. It’s a decent delivery and Hart ventures 10 yards off his line to punch it to safety and takes a clatter from two Scottish players who were jumping to meet it with their head. An inevitable consequence of the keeper’s decisive sortie, but the Turkish ref wards a defensive freekick.
Updated
3 min: Scotland’s slightly frantic pressure leads to a half-chance, as the ball breaks to Fletcher about 25 yards out and he takes a touch before essaying a half-volleyed shot. He didn’t catch it right so it was an easy save for Hart.
2 min: An encouraging first 90 seconds for Scotland. They showed their adventurous intent by getting lots of players forward and pestering England, whose only touches were hoofed attempted clearances.
1 min: We have kickoff! Scotland begin the (sporting) hostilities.
Before play begins, there will be a short and solemn ceremony to mark Armistice day. Three serving military people place poppy wreaths on the pitch. Lots of fans displays poppy banners or t-shirts. The players have black armbands with poppies. A soldier’s bugle announces the start of a period of silence. No more talk about poppies.
Updated
“If this is a draw do both sets of fans share the goalposts?” chortles Ian Copestake.
Next up is, you’ve guessed it, God Save the Queen. That, too, get hearty accompaniment and some boos (at least they sounded like boos).
The band’s rendition of Flower of Scotland is lustily accompanied by the visiting hordes, and booed by a smattering of locals.
Updated
Here come the teams to a tumultuous welcome! England are in white and grey while Scotland are wearing their traditional pink kit.
There may be some England fans at Wembley, but so far the TV camera seems only to have been able to find Scottish ones. The official away allocation is 14,000 but there looks to be a lot more than that and they’re already making loud and merry. Everything going dandy for Scotland so far, then. Don’t peak too early, lads. Kickoff is in 15 minutes.
Eight of this England starting lineup played in that Euro 2016 fiasco against Iceland. This game could be part of their redemption ... but Scotland are plainly hoping to provoke a relapse.
Updated
Strachan tells ITV: “We’re not a top team who can say ‘that’s the way we play’. We’ve got to pick a team that suits the opposition and combats what they have. ... It’s a big challenge but a great one. We’re disappointed with our last two performances but this is a game that can help us and the whole nation feel good about ourselves.”
Southgate speaks, and calls for the need for composure. “We want to be good with the ball,” he adds. He’s nailed this management lark. “We have a clear plan of how we want to play whatever team Scotland had selected,” he continues. Doubt he expected Strachan to go quite so attacking. It’s a shrewd move, I’m saying, because England are prone to crumble under the pressure of expectation at Wembley so best to try to get them running backwards early doors and spread the jitters. Strachan looks set to go out either in a blaze of glory or a flaming heavy defeat. This is going to be fun.
Updated
“So it’s an offence to be drunk in a public place?” blurts Simon McMahon after reading the preamble below (first entry). “ Then every adult football fan in Scotland - and probably a few bairns as well - is going to be arrested tonight if Scotland win. And maybe if we don’t.” Any maybe a lot ‘em are already drunk, if the hijinks around Trafalgar Square earlier today are anything to go by. Many a saxpence banged en route to Wembley, it seems.
Here’s contemporary match report from that maiden encounter between these two countries, back in 1872. Interesting to note, going by the third sentence, the rich heritage of English excuse-making.
Looking at those teams, the inclusion of Anya as one of eight changes from Scotland’s last game and seemingly at right-back is a bold call by Strachan. Perhaps he has the pace to compensate for any positional lapses, but perhaps not. Lallana and Sterling could give him a real hard time in different ways but, on the other hand, he could also push them on to the back foot. Scotland’s defence certainly looks the weakest part of their team - Sturridge could have a lot of fun - , as in midfield the visitors could conceivably get the better of England and they ay be sharp up front if Griffiths rewards the faith put in him. It would be good to give Burke a go at some stage, though best not leave it till Scotland are chasing an irretrievable deficit. But the plan, judging by Strachan’s selection, is to attack from the start. This game promises goals.
Updated
Teams:
England: Hart; Walker, Cahill, Stones, Rose; Henderson, Dier; Sterling, Rooney, Lallana; Sturridge
Subs: Heaton, Pickford, Clyne, Jagielka, Bertrand, Townsend, Walcott, Wilshere, Lingaard, Kane, Vardy, Rashford
Scotland: Gordon; Anya, Hanley, Berra, Wallace; Brown, Fletcher; Forrest, Morrison, Snodgrass; Griffiths
Subs: Marshall, Hamilton, R Martin, Kingsley, Paterson, Bannan, Burke, Ritchie, Naismith, McArthur, C Martin, S Fletcher
Updated
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the latest instalment of a fixture that has been played since long before the invention of fancy modern contraptions such as computers and motor cars. England and Scotland first clashed footballistically in 1872, which, coincidentally, is the same year that the Licensing Act made it an offence to be drunk in a public place (specifically, mind you, while in charge of a horse, cow, steam engine or carriage. There were no dentists’ chairs back then). The match ended 0-0 and Scotland have continued to give pretty much as good as they’ve got since then, which is good going given the huge population disparity. The record from the 112 matches so far reads: England wins 47, draws 24, Scotland wins 41.
But this isn’t about the past, it’s about the 2018 World Cup. It would take serious incompetence for England to fail to get there even if they lose today, so that’s certainly something we have to factor in. They’ve already lost one manager in this campaign and a bad performance and/or result today could push Gareth Southgate towards the exit and lead to another managerial hunt and an orgy of soul-searching and handwringing. Then they’ll put Wayne Rooney in charge. Possibly. On the other hand, a stylish victory would make England’s position at the top of the group more comfortable and perhaps help lift the national mood and secure Southgate’s position, assuming those last two things aren’t mutually exclusive.
Scotland, meanwhile, have already taken a big swig out of the opportunity bottle and it’ll be near empty if they lose today on the back of the home draw with Lithuania and the heavy defeat in Slovakia. Defeat would be a hefty blow, raising fears that the country’s wait for a return to a major tournament could be extended beyond two decades. Defeat might also spell the end of Gordon Strachan’s time as manager, a development that many Scottish fans might view as an upside to a galling reverse. Indeed, given some of the flak he has received since the unravelling of the qualification campaign for Euro 2016, Strachan may choose to leave even if Scotland win, but with his head, and two fingers, held high.
But this isn’t about the future, it’s about the here and now. There’s an age-old rivalry at work and there’s no point overthinking these things. Get stuck in, lads, and give it welly. Let no man leave the field feeling he did not do his utmost. Here we are now, entertain us.
Updated
