Scotland seldom leave Wembley without some sort of souvenir. Back in a phase of their long rivalry with England when the Scots had the superior side, mementos were seized aggressively by travelling fans.
In 1977, a 2-1 Scottish win in London set off a pitch invasion in which a lot of turf was excavated and pieces of crossbar destroyed.
Nowadays, England and Scotland meet only as frequently as the natural qualifying fixture list allows. But the sting of international football’s oldest match-up, dating from 1872, has not been drawn. While this evening’s meeting at Euro 2020 must be played, because of public health protocols, to a limited-capacity Wembley, there will be plenty of noise.
There will be elements of envy behind it, too, and although the bigger nation, England, aspire to winning this European championship and the smaller one, Scotland simply to clambering into the next round, not all of the envy goes in one direction.
England manager, Gareth Southgate, would love to have a left-back as reliable and precise in his crossing as Andy Robertson, the Scotland captain.
England began the tournament with Kieran Trippier, right footed and far more seasoned on the opposite side of the defence, in that position. Were Kieran Tierney, of Arsenal, an Englishman rather than a Scot, he would likely command a place on the left of England’s defence.
The frustration for Steve Clarke, the Scotland manager, is that arguably his two most gifted footballers, Tierney and Robertson, occupy the same role.
His more immediate frustration is that just as he had found a functional solution to that concentration of riches, with both playing in 3-5-2, Tierney sustained a thigh injury that may keep him out of the starting XI at Wembley tonight.
Southgate picks his team mostly from players in the wealthiest domestic league in the world, the English Premier League. If he chose to, he could pick his outfield 10 for today entirely from players who took part in the knockout phase of the last Champions League.
Scotland 0 Czech Republic 2: player ratings
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SCOTLAND RATINGS: David Marshall 6 - A great save denied an opener when Patrik Schick found space inside the box but the 36-year-old couldn’t do anything about the opening goal. Positioning could have been better for the second one - although that’s easy to say when the ball is 50 yards from the goal. EPA -
Jack Hendry 6 - The 26-year-old scored against the Netherlands and was inches away from equalising when his looping shot was denied only by the crossbar. The defender will regret his attempt at goal later on that saw the ball blocked into the path of Schick for the second goal. EPA -
Grant Hanley 7 - Stood out in the back three for Scotland as the Norwich centre-back dealt well with the majority of crosses asking questions of Steve Clarke’s defence. A strong performance. EPA -
Liam Cooper 6 - Struggled in the air against Patrik Schick for the opener but it was a difficult task as the Czech Republic executed their opening goal with precision. Solid apart from that. PA -
Stephen O’Donnell 6 - Late to close down the cross for the opener but was unlucky with the quality of the cross from Coufal. AFP -
Stuart Armstrong 6 - The Scotland midfielder was determined to get his side back into the game with direct runs at the defence. End product could have been better. Getty -
John McGinn 6 - Not as influential as normal from the Aston Villa man. A tough midfield battle against Tomas Soucek made it difficult for McGinn to get on the ball in dangerous areas. EPA -
Scott McTominay 7 - Broke up play in midfield and was strong in the tackle to get Scotland moving the ball up the field. Solid. AP -
Andrew Robertson 7 - The skipper’s delivery was as incisive as ever as the Liverpool left-back provided a regular threat down the left flank. Should have done better with his chance in the first half. PA -
Ryan Christie 7 - Christie played with confidence, attacking defenders directly in front of the Hampden Park crowd. The 26-year-old picked out Andy Robertson excellently just after the half-hour mark but the captain couldn’t convert. Substituted at half-time - that couldn’t have been because of his performance. EPA -
Lyndon Dykes 6 - The striker will be disappointed with two efforts he should have done better with. You have to take your chances in big tournaments and Dykes’ effort in the second half gave the goalkeeper a chance to make the save. AFP -
SUBS: Che Adams (Christie, 45) 6 - Dangerous movement caused problems for the defence right away as the Southampton forward got on the ball inside the box and drew defenders out of position. EPA -
Callum McGregor (Hendry, 67) 6 - Kept the play ticking but the Celtic midfielder didn’t make too much impact on the game. AP -
Ryan Fraser (Armstrong, 67) 6 - A positive move by Steve Clarke but Fraser was unable to make a difference. The winger has been short on gametime of late. Getty -
James Forrest (O’Donnell, 79) N/A - Almost provided an instant impact when slaloming inside the box but couldn’t finish the chance. Kevin Nisbet (Dykes, 79) N/A - Linked well with Che Adams but was given a tough task with the Czech Republic crowding their defensive box. AFP -
CZECH REPUBLIC RATINGS: Tomas Vaclik 7 - A good hand tipped over Scotland’s best chance of the first half before the goalkeeper denied Dykes from close range at a critical time in the game. EPA -
Vladimir Coufal 7 - The West Ham defender picked up seven assists in the Premier League last season and he showed why after whipping the ball towards Patrik Schick for the opener. AP -
Ondrej Celustka 7 - A strong performance from the Slavia Prague defender saw him take charge of aerial situations, winning eight duels in the air on the day. PA -
Tomas Kalas 6 - Didn’t make any notable mistakes on defence and battled well after taking an arm to the head from Lyndon Dykes. EPA -
Jan Boril 6 - Not too much came down the 30-year-old’s flank as Scotland looked to utilise the quality of Andy Robertson on the opposite flank. Battles with James Forrest and Ryan Fraser meant the defender had to remain switched on until the 90th minute. PA -
Tomas Soucek 7 - A solid performance capped off with an assist from a blocked shot for Schick’s wonder goal. Kept McGinn quiet throughout the game. EPA -
Alex Kral 6 - Could have taken better care of the ball at times with numerous passes failing to find the target. Replaced in the second half. EPA -
Lukas Masopust 6 - Uninvolved for the most part before being withdrawn for Vydra in the 72nd minute. Getty -
Vladimir Darida 6 - Moved the ball well from the ten while working hard to get back on defence. Reuters -
Jakub Jankto 6 - Unlucky not to pick up an assist on the day with a number of good deliveries from crosses and set pieces. Getty -
Patrik Schick 9 - An inch perfect header followed by an early favourite for goal of the tournament capped off an excellent striker’s performance from the Bayer Leverkusen striker. Reuters -
SUBS: Tomas Holes (Kral, 67) 6 - A tactical substitution by Czech Republic saw the Slavia Prague man introduced to solidify the defensive structure to protect their 2-0 lead. AP -
Matej Vydra (Masopust, 72) N/A - The Burnley man almost made it 3-0 but was denied by David Marshall. AP -
Michael Krmencik (Schick, 87) N/A - Replaced Schick and provided energy upfront to maintain some form of press in the final stage of the game. Reuters -
Petr Sevcik (Darida, 87) N/A - Helped the defence in Scotland’s final attacks. On for Darida who had worked hard throughout. Adam Hlozek (Jantko, 72) N/A - Attacked Scotland’s right side directly as space opened up in the later stages of the game. Reuters
Here’s the key difference. Clarke has just two players in that category, Liverpool’s Robertson, and the still raw 20-year-old Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour.
They represent a country with little over a tenth of England’s population and the distinction is reflected in the Fifa rankings, where England sit fourth, Scotland 44th.
The stakes today for the Scots, taking part in their first major tournament since the World of 1998, have heightened in the last four days, since their opening Group D defeat to the Czech Republic, a 2-0 reverse that embarrassed their goalkeeper David Marshall, beaten by a 50-metre shot from Patrik Schick, and did little to soothe concerns about Scotland’s difficulties in finding a reliable finisher.
Clarke is under pressure to give a starting place to Southampton forward Che Adams, who has been a lively addition to his plans since committing his international career to the Scots.
Adams was born in England, and less than six years ago was playing for the England under-20s alongside Ben Chilwell, who is part of Southgate’s squad.
England have not had too many goals from their main striker, recently, although concern about Harry Kane’s form – two goals from his last 10 internationals – is muted. “The question marks around him are background noise,” insisted the England defender Tyrone Mings.
The Scots fully expect Kane to lead England at Wembley. The sight of him will be alarming. Kane features on the long list of those who have thwarted Scottish ambitions.
In his first match as England captain, in 2017, Kane scored a stoppage time equaliser against Scotland in a World Cup qualifier that effectively kept Scotland out of a possible play-off.
It was the most recent in a series of England-inflicted setbacks. There was the tantalising Scotland-England play-off duel for Euro 2000, when the Scots won at Wembley, but only by a single goal. They needed another to take the tie to extra time.
There was Euro 96, when, just as in the current tournament, Scotland faced England in London in the group stage. They had a penalty saved when they were 1-0 down. England doubled the lead with a sensational solo goal from Paul Gascoigne, then of Glasgow Rangers.
Southgate played for England in that match, and again in the Scottish win in London in the 1999 play-off. That night the Scots identified Southgate as the point of vulnerability in the English defence.
A generation on, Southgate has built up a tough suit of armour as a manager and an England team well prepared for any ambush that the underdog Scots try to spring on them.
