England v Scotland: Thousands of fans descend on London for goalless draw
The Tartan army invaded London's Leicester Square in spectacular style before the match, ITV News Correspondent Dan Rivers reports
Scotland held out for a goalless draw against England as Steve Clarke’s side gave their hopes of reaching the Euro 2020 knockout phase a much-needed shot in the arm.
International football’s oldest rivals locked horns for the 115th time in Friday’s eagerly-anticipated Group D clash at Wembley, where the crackling atmosphere belied the restricted attendance under the arch.
England knew victory against their fierce foes would seal progress to the round of 16 with a match to spare, but Scotland dug deep and gave Gareth Southgate’s side a few scares as they sealed a deserved 0-0 draw.
Having ended their 23-year absence from major tournaments with an underwhelming loss to the Czech Republic on Monday, Clarke’s men would have been in a perilous position had they lost to the Three Lions.
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The Scots got the first chance when Che Adams found himself in space 14 yards out but he shot weakly and John Stones blocked.
In the 11th minute, Stones headed unchallenged against the post from Mason Mount’s corner.
Scotland grew in confidence and nearly scored on the half-hour mark after Tierney overlapped Andy Robertson and sent in a deep cross.
Gareth Southgate, England's manager, calls the result "frustrating"
Stephen O’Donnell caught it on the volley but Jordan Pickford made an excellent one-handed stop and Adams could not head the rebound on target.
England started the second half on the front foot and David Marshall saved well from Mount’s powerful effort before Reece James fired just over.
Scotland were living dangerously but the visitors came close just after the hour mark when James blocked an effort from Dykes that appeared to be drifting just wide.
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There was a mixed reaction to Southgate taking off Foden as Jack Grealish was introduced to a huge roar, with the playmaker quickly showing some nice touches.
Adams fired well wide from a half chance in a tense finale and Scotland survived a goalmouth scramble in the closing stages to secure a much-needed first point of the tournament.
England boss Gareth Southgate said: “It was a frustrating night, we know we can play better. We have to give Scotland huge credit, they defended valiantly, they played well and in the end we didn’t do enough to win the game.
“If you’re not going to win a game in a tournament you have to make sure you don’t lose it. We understand it’s a disappointment for our supporters especially, but we have to dust ourselves down.”
Meanwhile, England captain Harry Kane said a draw was a fair result.
“A draw is probably a fair result. To be fair to Scotland, they defended really well. It wasn’t our best performance,” Kane told ITV.
“It was a tough game. Scotland defended really well, made great blocks at the right times when we did have chances.
“That’s football, we’re playing at the European Championship, no games are going to be easy, Scotland are playing for their lives in the tournament and you saw that today.”
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Scotland boss Steve Clarke said his side matched England.
“I thought we played well, I thought we were unfairly criticised after the game on Monday,” he said.
“I know we have got a good group of players and they showed that tonight. It was a good game between two good teams, you wouldn’t know which team was favourite to be in the last four which is credit to us.
Ahead of the clash, players and staff from both England and Scotland took the knee.
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Having initially said they would not perform the gesture, the visitors relented. The reaction from fans was the most positive of recent games - a cacophony of noise drowned out barely audible booing. Of late, the England squad have seen the gesture booed by a minority of supporters.
A dispersal order has been imposed in central London from 3pm on Thursday until 3pm on Saturday, after police said they expected "anti-social behaviour".
In the evening, the force said it was "engaging with a large boisterous crowd of Scottish fans in Leicester Square to maintain their safety, and prevent the likelihood of crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour".
It also reminded fans to remain socially distanced as London remained in a "public health crisis".
One of the fans, who has followed Scotland to two World Cups – France in 1998 and Italy in 1990 - spoke to ITV News outside Wembley Stadium ahead of the much-anticipated game on Friday.
"It's very important for Scotland, we didn't get off to the very best of starts obviously...[Scotland are] underdogs big time," Martin Nicholson said.