It's the oldest International fixture in history with the very first taking place 149 years ago in 1872! England vs Scotland is an international rivalry like no other and tonight it takes centre stage at a major tournament for the first time since 1996. A year which, coincidently, is also the last time Scotland featured in a EUROs. After a poor performance on Monday in Glasgow, will Steve Clarke shake things up with the squad? In the first in a brand new series, this is EUROs Fans View - England vs Scotland.
While England came into this tournament as one of the bookie's favourites to take home the trophy and Scotland relative outsiders, the actual historic win/loss record of the two rivals is surprisingly close.
Fortress Wembley?
Going into tonight's game the two sides have faced each other 114 times of which 25 have been draws. Scotland have won 41 times, the last time being in a EUROs Qualifying Play-Off in 2000. England are only marginally ahead with 48 wins against the Scottish, however, it is on home soil where that margin increases. Wembley plays host to the game this evening and has also done so on 32 other occasions with England winning 18 of those and Scotland winning half that tally with 9. Could the EUROs in 2021 be the breaking point that sees a fired-up Tartan Army upset the Three Lions?
Fans View - England
Ahead of the big game this evening, We Love Sport spoke to a selection of fans from both countries to get their view on the Starting 11 for their country and their predictions for the final score. It is safe to say, we got some varied and (in some cases) crazy predictions back. Here's what they had to say:
Matty from Formby - Liverpool & England Fan
Matty's View: "Formation- gone for a 433. Not sure a back 5 is necessary against the current Scotland side and this shape will work better for an attacking style of play.
Keeper- I would go for Henderson. Despite the experience at previous tournaments, I don’t believe Jordan Pickford is reliable enough in major tournaments. Sam Johnstone not quite ahead of Dean Henderson either.
(NOTE: Since making his prediction, Henderson has been ruled out with injury - Matty has since picked the not "reliable enough" Pickford to start)
Back four- chooses itself. If Maguire is fit.
Midfield 3- Jordan Henderson would walk into the midfield three if fully fit, however at current levels this is the three I’d go for. Foden a little bit deeper than the front three, as I believe a lot of the play will go through him.
Front 3- Kane, obvious choice. Grealish I think has to be in the squad and on the wing rather than central. The other winger could be between Rashford, Sancho, Sterling, Bellingham etc. However, I’ve gone for Rashford purely down to experience at the highest level and thinking he’d suit the system more than other experienced players like Sterling."
Final Score Prediction:
England 2 - 1 Scotland
Jordan from Burnley - Burnley & England Fan (@rushy_sport)
Jordans View: "I like most fans questioned Gareth Southgate’s selection for the opening game against Croatia, but he was proved to be fully vindicated after what was an encouraging performance for most of the game that saw us control the match for large parts.
Scotland represents a different proposition to Croatia. They will be much more aggressive and have more mobility throughout their side and it will also be expected that England create more chances against them. So, should Southgate bring in someone like Jack Grealish to add more flair to the side?"
Final Score Prediction:
England 2 - 0 Scotland
Steven from Runcorn - Liverpool & England Fan
Steven's View: "Rice and Phillips will run the game against Scotland if Croatia was anything to go by.
The back 3 was solid so I wouldn’t be throwing Maguire in for the sake of it if he isn’t ready. Trippier was decent on Sunday so he’d get the start against Andy Robertson on that side for me. He’s better at tackling than our other RBs which we’re going to need.
I think you can take your pick between Mount or Grealish but either should be fine against Scotland. They won’t see much of the ball anyway and the more players we can get playing well the better. The front three were poor in front of goal on Sunday. So I’d take two of them off on 60 for any of Rashford, Sancho, DCL or even Mount in a more advanced position.
I wouldn’t start anyone different up top purely to keep the rhythm of how we played the other day up, but definitely, be subbing Kane off if we have a handsome lead at 60."
Final Score Prediction:
England 3 - 0 Scotland
Fans View - Scotland
A disappointing and humbling defeat for Scotland on Monday makes this game a must-win. How did our Scotland fans feel about tonight's game and who would they be picking to start?
Mikey from Glasgow - Celtic and Scotland Fan
Mikey's View: "I support Celtic - I think this might be obvious based on some of the selections. After the defeat against the Czech Republic, the pressure is on now for Scotland and that is why Marshall and Dykes have been dropped. Both showed they are not up to the standard of playing at an international level, despite Marshall's heroics in qualifying. Adams has shown while playing for Southampton, that he is a capable goalscoring threat. England huffed and puffed against Croatia but only showed glimpses of the quality you'd expect from a team called as one of the favourites. I expect Forrest to have a decent performance here too and I reckon Scotland will achieve a point leading to a play-off against Croatia in our final game."
Final Score Prediction:
England 1 - 1 Scotland
Scott from Glasgow - Hamilton Academical and Scotland Fan
Scott's View: "GK - Great shot-stopper, better with crosses.
Defence - Chosen a great mix of youth, experience, strong tacklers all with great ball distribution.
In midfield, I've gone for 2 wing-backs who are very competent going forward or in defence. A middle 2 that will hassle the English all day long. McGinn has a great scoring record and is also excellent at feeding up to the top.
Forwards: Dykes is physical and a great finisher but also brilliant with holding up. Fraser will graft all day long and will complement the front well."
Final Score Prediction:
England 1 - 2 Scotland (predicted with a little nudge from Abbie at We Love Sport).
What do you think?
So those are our Fan Views for the England vs Scotland game this evening at the EUROs. How do you think they did? Let us know on socials @welovesportuk using the hashtag #FansView.
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