Scotland Earns its First Euro 2020 Point in a Winless Match with England

Scotland earned their first point of Euro 2020 as they held England to a 0-0 goalless draw at Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London. The scoreless match capped off the 115th edition of the oldest international football rivalry, which dates back to 1872.

Despite just 3,000 tickets being allocated to away supporters at Wembley, some outlets estimated as many as 20,000 Scots had made the short journey across the border to revel in the festivities.

With Trafalgar Square, the usual gathering point for the Tartan Army — as Scotland fans are known — closed off to the public due to the pandemic, those without tickets descended on Soho, particularly Leicester Square, to frolic in the fountains and consume their fair share of alcohol, those two things often happening at the same time.

Friday’s clash was the 115th meeting between the British neighbors and came 149 years after their first, a 0-0 draw in front of around 4,000 fans at Glasgow’s West of Scotland Cricket Club, which is recognized by FIFA as football’s first ever international fixture.

Although a century-and-a-half has passed since that match, for fans of both sides this local derby has lost none of its luster.

Despite the obvious rivalry and deep-rooted desire to get one up on their closest neighbor, the interactions between both sets of fans were amicable on Wembley Way — the famous road that leads up to England’s national stadium — with many sharing cans of beer on the walk.

England may hold a narrow historic advantage over Scotland — 48 wins to 41 — but for many years now, the Three Lions have dominated this rivalry.

However, no team in history has beaten England on more occasions than Scotland. “We’re hoping to repeat that tonight,” Finleyson added. “And I’m quite sure if everybody is on form, we’ll do it.”

Scotland has managed just one win over England since 1986, a 1-0 victory at Wembley in 1999 that ultimately counted for nothing as England progressed to Euro 2000 2-1 on aggregate thanks to Paul Scholes’ double in the first leg at Hampden Park.