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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Freddie Keighley

Scotland fans descend on London in their thousands ahead of blockbuster England clash

Scotland fans are making their presence felt in the capital ahead of their side's mouth-watering showdown with England at Wembley on Friday night.

Steve Clarke's Tartan Army are looking to bounce back from their 2-0 defeat by Czech Republic in their opening game of the tournament.

But they face a stern test up against a Three Lions squad brimming with confidence after a 1-0 victory over Croatia last Sunday.

That has not damped the spirit of supporters arriving at King's Cross station en masse on Thursday, who arrived in their finest Scotland livery, adorning flags and singing at the top of their voices.

Scotland fans are making their presence felt in the capital (PA)

Thousands of fans have flocked to London for the blockbuster fixture, but most will be watching from pubs rather than Wembley itself.

The 90,000-seater ground is operating at a much-reduced capacity for the group stages, with just 21,500 tickets up for grabs.

Of that number, just 3,000 were allocated to the visitors for the sellout Group D clash.

With at least double that number of fans believed to have made the trip south, Scotland supporters are instead planning to take the party to Hyde Park in the build-up to the match.

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has urged fans not to gather amid the coronavirus pandemic on the same week the easing of restrictions on social distancing was pushed back.

Nonetheless, every train from Glasgow and Edinburgh to the capital was sold out on Thursday morning, with fans desparate to soak up the atmosphere of Scotland and England's first Euros encounter since 1996.

The Three Lions emerged victorious that day, with Paul Gascoigne scoring one of his country's greatest-ever goals, which was capped with his iconic dentist chair celebration.

Thousands of fans have flocked to London for the blockbuster fixture (PA)

What is your scoreline prediction for England vs Scotland? Comment below.

Scotland fans traditionally gather in Trafalgar Square for their matches against England, but the London landmark is being used as a socially-distanced fan zone for key workers.

Khan's concerns over supporters flocking to London are shared by the Scottish government. Culture Minister Jenny Gilruth said: "As well as the matches played in Glasgow, there will also be huge interest in the Scotland v England game at Wembley.

"Although we have made great progress, we all still have an important part to play in making sure we keep the virus under control.

"So I urge all football fans to plan in advance how you are going to enjoy the tournament and only travel to London for 18 June if you have a ticket or a safe place to watch the match from."

Scotland fans in the Admiral Pub at Trafalgar Square (DAILY RECORD)

Scotland's base, Hampden Park, played host to 12,000 fans for the defeat by Czech Republic on Sunday.

Clarke's side host Croatia at the Glasgow ground on Tuesday in their final group-stage game. England, meanwhile, welcome Czech Republic to Wembley on the same day.

The stadium is due to host four knockout fixtures in the tournament, with the number of fans permitted to attend expected to be expanded to 45,000.

Buy the official EURO 2020 Tournament Programme with a special Wembley London cover now: https://reachsportshop.com/team/euro-2020/

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