I WANT ENGLAND TO WIN

Big game tomorrow. I'm at an U13 practice 7-8pm so will have dash home to catch the match! I listen to TalkSport quite a lot and a question was put to the listeners; "Do you want England to lose?", so that a high profile defeat might shake up the dithering FA and get something done about English football! I always switch on TV when there is an England match with expectation and walk away in disappointment but I never WANT the team to lose.

The first international between England and Scotland was held in 1870 at the Oval and it was a truly "amateur" game with London based players dragged in by friends to make up the Scottish team. It was however the start of something big. Score 1-1.

The first official match was held on 30th November 1872 (St Andrew's Day) when England and the Scots drew 0-0.  Scotland only had ten clubs at that tme, so their team was diluted to say the least and entirely made up from Queen's Park players. 4,000 paying a shilling witnessed the game at the West Glasgow Cricket club.

The latest fixture between the two was in November 2014 when England won 3-1. There have been 112 fixtures and England has won 47 and drawn 24.

In 1928 the Wembley Wizards from north of the border wiped England all over Wembely winning 5-1. Arsenal's Alex James was one of the great influences in the game that time. He scored twice.

In April 1950 Scotland lost to England 0-1 and thereby refused to take part in the Brazilian World Cup the following summer. England went to Rio having "qualified" from Britain and many will know they did not fare too well. There were more WC qualifiers between the two nations in 1954 and 1968.

I remember watching England on TV embarrass Scotland at Wembley in 1961 putting 9 goals past a hapless Frank Haffey, the Scot's goalie. They scored three in return but Jimmy Greaves notched a hat trick, Bobby Smith scored two, Johnny Haynes 2, Bobby Robson and Bryan Douglas one each. The team was full of stars. Frank had a nightmare.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFqrBatm8No

The Scots claimed a "title" as World Champions after beating the World Cup winners (England) in 1967, again at Wembley. The Scots' side included four players from the new European Champions from Celtic, Dennis Law, Billy Bremner and Jim Baxter. Some side. Some pitch invasion.

In February 1973 the two teams met at Hampden to celebrate the Scottish FA's Centenary but the English spoiled the party with a 5-0 win.

After another victory on English soil, the Scots invaded Wembley in June 1977 when goalposts were broken by the crowd as they celebrated their team winning 2-1.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFqrBatm8No

The Home Championships were wound up in 1984 with the last fixture in this competition being held at Hampden Park, quite rightly the game was drawn 1-1. Since then there have been friendlies and a short lived competition called the (Stanley) Rous Cup which brought the two teams together. It now takes a WC or Euro qualifier or friendlies to pitch the two nations against one another.

1996 conjours up Gascoigne's dentist chair and his brilliant goal with a 2-0 win in the Euros at Wembley, there was fixture in 2013 when the FA celebrated their 150th Anniversary and the next tie in the World Cup qualifying in at Hampden Park on June 10th 2017.