We look ahead to this friendly at Hampden Park, Glasgow, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the oldest international fixture, with our Scotland vs England prediction and preview.
Scotland vs England: The Quick Hits
- England are predicted to become the first European nation to win 600 internationals in this game against Scotland. The Opta supercomputer gives them a 53.6% chance of victory on Tuesday night.
- This match comes 150 years and 286 days after England and Scotland’s first international meeting in November 1872.
- Scotland have won five consecutive matches while netting two goals in each game for the first time since November 1949.
Match Preview
Neighbours England and Scotland meet in this international match at Hampden Park on Tuesday evening to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first meeting between the two nations on 30 November 1872, 150 years and 286 days before the date of this game.
England boss Gareth Southgate will be hoping his side improve their performance levels from Saturday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine, which they drew 1-1 after going behind. Kyle Walker scored his first England international goal in his 77th appearance. He became the 450th player to score for the men’s national team, with his goal ending the longest wait for a first goal by any of them.
Should England win this match, it’ll be their 600th international victory and they’d become the first European nation to reach this tally.
Scotland enjoyed an excellent 3-0 away win in Cyprus at the weekend, with all three goals coming in the opening half hour. Steve Clarke’s side have now won all five of their Euro 2024 qualifiers and top Group A ahead of Spain and Norway.
According to the latest FIFA Rankings, England are currently the fourth best team in men’s international football behind only Argentina (1st), France (2nd) and Brazil (3rd). Scotland, in comparison, are ranked 30th and are the 17th-highest UEFA nation in the rankings.
Scotland vs England Head-to-Head
This is the 116th meeting between the two old rivals, with 48 England wins, 41 Scotland wins and 26 draws previously. The first meeting in 1872 was a goalless draw.
England have played more games against Scotland than versus any other nation (115), but their tally of 48 wins is fewer than they have managed against Wales (69 in 104 games).
England have lost just one of their last 12 games against Scotland (W8 D3), a 1-0 home defeat in a European Championship qualifying play-off game. The Three Lions are unbeaten in four at Hampden Park (W2 D2) since a 1-0 defeat in May 1985.
The last meeting between England and Scotland came at Wembley Stadium in June 2021, in the group stage of the 2020 UEFA European Championships. It ended 0-0, and Scotland attempted more shots (11) and shots on target (2) than England (9 and 1).
Recent Form
England’s 1-1 draw against Ukraine in Poland on Saturday ended a sequence of four successive wins, while it also ended a run of three clean sheets in a row. The Three Lions are now unbeaten in five internationals, since losing 2-1 to France in the quarter-final stage of the 2022 World Cup.
Gareth Southgate’s side have only failed to score in one of their last 11 matches – a 0-0 draw against USA at the 2022 World Cup in November. They have only conceded a first-half goal in two of their last 12 matches in all competitions, though one of these was their 1-1 draw against Ukraine last time out. They last conceded in the opening 45 minutes in back-to-back matches in October 2020 (versus Belgium and Denmark).
Scotland are on an excellent run of form ahead of this encounter with their local international rivals. They have won 15 of their last 21 games in all competitions (D3 L3), winning the last five in a row while scoring at least two goals each time. Their home form has been just as impressive, losing just one of their last 19 home games in all competitions (W14 D4), winning the last six in a row. They last had a longer home winning run between August 1995 and April 1997, a seven-game run.
Two players who could be among the goals in this game are Scotland’s Scott McTominay and England’s Harry Kane.
Manchester United midfielder McTominay has scored in his last three home appearances for Scotland, netting five goals. The last player to score in four consecutive home games for the Tartan Army was Kris Boyd in September 2007, who netted in each of his first four caps on home soil.
Kane has been involved in 30 goals in his last 28 appearances for England, scoring 24 and assisting six. He could become the first starting England captain to score in more than one game against Scotland, having previously netted against them in June 2017.
Scotland vs England Prediction
England are being tipped to win this encounter by the Opta supercomputer, given a 53.6% chance of victory before kick-off on Tuesday evening.
Despite Scotland’s excellent form of late, the Opta prediction gives them just over a one-in-five chance of winning (21.7%), with the draw being given a 24.7% chance.
Scotland vs England Squads
Scotland: Angus Gunn, Robby McCrorie, Zander Clark, Aaron Hickey, Andrew Robertson, John Souttar, Kieran Tierney, Jack Hendry, Ryan Porteous, Scott McKenna, Nathan Patterson, Scott McTominay, John McGinn, Callum McGregor, Billy Gilmour, Stuart Armstrong, Lewis Ferguson, Ryan Jack, Kenny McLean, Lyndon Dykes, Ché Adams, Ryan Christie, Kevin Nisbet, Lawrence Shankland.
England: Jordan Pickford, Sam Johnstone, Aaron Ramsdale, Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire, Kieran Trippier, Ben Chilwell, Marc Guéhi, Fikayo Tomori, Lewis Dunk, Levi Colwill, Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, Kalvin Phillips, Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Callum Wilson, James Maddison, Eberechi Eze, Eddie Nketiah.
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