England can prepare for a heavy dose of criticism in the coming days. The Three Lions did not get past a stiff Scotland on Friday evening. The two oldest football countries in the world provided an entertaining game of football, but forgot what really matters: scoring.
Bagpipes and the necessary emo to the national anthems, two teams who put their heads in front of it and the kind of rain in which anyone who has ever stood on a football field would love to throw a sliding tackle: there was little that the first half between England and Scotland didn’t have.
Except for one thing: goals. That had a lot to do with the fact that Scotland came out much better than in their lost opening game against the Czech Republic. Especially in the opening phase, the visitors pushed the home team well back. The English had a hard time with the virile game of the Scots. What’s more: before the break, the home team didn’t get a single ball between the posts. Harry Kane especially excelled in absence. The English captain barely touched nine balls in the first half.
Dangerous on stationary phases
Still, after twelve minutes, England had a good chance to wipe the zero off the board. In recent years, the English have become true specialists in stagnant phases. Not surprisingly, the huge opportunity came after a corner kick. Stones headed Mount’s corner hard against the post.
On the other side too, it was a defender who had the best chance to open the score for his country. Stephen O’Donnell, right-back at Motherwell FC in daily life, stranded within a few centimeters of eternal fame in Scotland on the half hour. Jordan Pickford made his wonderful volley from the bottom right corner with a nice float dive.
The Thee Lions started against Scotland with a starting team that was 25 years and 31 days old on average, the youngest English starting team ever in a major tournament. Gareth Southgate had clearly given his cubs a good wash at halftime. Because in the first half it was the Scots who started the match flying, after the break it was the English who ensured a blitz start. Already after three minutes in the second half Marshall had to go flat on a big bang from Mason Mount.
The Three Lions now smell blood. The English continued to press and were more dangerous than in the first half. The Scots seemed ready to be led toward the slaughter, but a little past the hour they were there again. After a corner, the ball landed in front of Lyndon Dykes’ left. Reece James took his swipe off the line.
The Scots then continued to poke their noses at the window as Gareth Southgate, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish, pulled a few more solid weapons off the bench. Harry Kane backed off. However, the substitutes also failed to wipe the zero off the board. Not even a real final offensive by the English side came to fruition. An exciting game of football ended with no goals. England must get the job done against the Czech Republic next week. Scotland needs a stunt against Croatia if they want to keep their chances for the next round alive.
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