England vs Scotland: UEFA EURO 2020 match background, facts and stats

The world's oldest international match is revived as England welcome Scotland to Wembley in the second round of Group D games at UEFA EURO 2020.

• There is plenty of history between the old neighbours, not least a famous meeting at Wembley in the group stage of EURO '96 – a match featuring one of the tournament's most famous goals, from England's Paul Gascoigne.

• England come into this match on three points, Raheem Sterling having scored the only goal against Croatia at Wembley on 13 June as England won their opening EURO final tournament game for the first time at the ninth attempt (D5 L3). The following day, Scotland's first game in a major tournament for 23 years ended in a 2-0 defeat by the Czech Republic at Glasgow's Hampden Park.

Previous meetings

• The sides last crossed paths in qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, goals from Daniel Sturridge (23), Adam Lallana (50) and Gary Cahill (61) giving Gareth Southgate's side a 3-0 win at Wembley on 11 November 2016.

• England have won 18 of the 32 matches between the sides at Wembley, where Scotland have recorded nine victories against their neighbours. There have been no draws there in the past 15 matches, England winning 11 and Scotland four.

• In the teams' most recent meeting, Harry Kane's goal three minutes into added time rescued a 2-2 draw at Hampden Park on 10 June 2017 after a late Leigh Griffiths free-kick double (87, 90) had overturned Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's 70th-minute opener and seemingly given Gordon Strachan's Scotland victory.

• That draw extended England's unbeaten run against their neighbours to four matches (W3 D1), since a 1-0 defeat by Scotland at Wembley in the second leg of their UEFA EURO 2000 play-off. Don Hutchison's 28th-minute goal gave the visitors their first win at Wembley since 1981, although Paul Scholes' first-half double at Hampden Park ensured England progressed to the finals 2-1 on aggregate.

• The sides' only tournament meeting came at Wembley on Matchday 2 of EURO '96 – Scotland's last EURO appearance before these finals. Second-half goals from Alan Shearer (53) and Gascoigne (79) gave England a 2-0 win, the second goal coming moments after David Seaman had saved a Gary McAllister penalty.

• That was the sides' first EURO fixture since they were paired in qualifying for the 1968 UEFA European Championship. Scotland beat then world champions England 3-2 at Wembley on 15 April 1967, with four of the goals coming in the final 12 minutes; Denis Law's 27th-minute opener was added to in the 78th minute by Bobby Lennox and, though Jack Charlton (84) halved England's deficit, Jim McCalliog got what proved to be Scotland's winner three minutes from time despite Geoff Hurst replying a minute later.

• The reverse fixture at Hampden Park, on 24 February 1968, ended 1-1, a 19th-minute Martin Peters opener cancelled out 20 minutes later by John Hughes, and the point proved enough for England to progress to the quarter-finals.

• England and Scotland met in the first ever official international match, a goalless draw in Glasgow on 30 November 1872.

• The sides have contested 114 previous matches, making it the world's most played international; England have recorded 48 wins to Scotland's 41 with 25 draws. The goal count is 203–174 in England's favour.

EURO facts: England

• This is England's tenth appearance in the UEFA European Championship; they finished third in 1968 and also reached the semi-finals on home soil in 1996.

• A team managed by Roy Hodgson won all ten qualifiers on the way to UEFA EURO 2016, where they finished second behind Wales in their section after taking five points from three matches, only to be shocked by Iceland in the round of 16 (1-2).

• Southgate's side finished top of Group A in UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying, winning seven of their eight matches (L1) to progress six points ahead of the Czech Republic, who are also in Group D at the final tournament. England's sole defeat came away to the Czechs in their fifth fixture (1-2); they had beaten them 5-0 at Wembley in their opening game.

• Kane finished as the overall top scorer in the qualifying group stage with 12 goals, scoring at least once in every game. He also provided five assists.

• Sterling was involved in 15 of England's 37 qualifying goals, scoring eight himself with seven assists.

• The defeat by Iceland in the last 16 at UEFA EURO 2016 is England's only reverse in 12 EURO finals matches (W6 D5), with the quarter-final eliminations on penalties by Italy (2012) and Portugal (2004) counted as draws.

• England's record at Wembley is now W184 D72 L39. They have won ten of their last 11 matches at the stadium, including UEFA EURO 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic (5-0), Bulgaria (4-0) and Montenegro (7-0); they have lost only two of their last 23 matches at Wembley (W17 D4), most recently the 1-0 UEFA Nations League defeat by Denmark on 14 October 2020.

• England have never lost in the finals of a major tournament at Wembley (W8 D3), though they were defeated on penalties there by Germany after a 1-1 draw in the semi-final of EURO '96.

EURO facts: Scotland

• Scotland have qualified for two previous EURO final tournaments, in 1992 and 1996. In both they failed to get beyond the group stage, although they won one of their three games in each tournament.

• This is Scotland's first major tournament since the 1998 World Cup in France.

• Scotland have never progressed beyond the first round in either of their EURO appearances or their eight World Cups, although their 1998 World Cup campaign was only the fourth time in those ten tournaments that they failed to win a game.

• The defeat by the Czech Republic on Matchday 1 means Scotland's record in EURO final tournaments is now W2 D1 L4.

• The Scots kicked off their UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying campaign under Alex McLeish, losing 3-0 in Kazakhstan before a 2-0 win away to San Marino. Steve Clarke then succeeded McLeish in May 2019, Scotland ending in third place in Group I behind Belgium and Russia having picked up 15 points from their ten games overall (W5 L5).

• Scotland qualified for the play-offs after finishing top of their 2018/19 UEFA Nations League group, picking up nine points from four matches under McLeish to win their section ahead of Israel and Albania.

• Israel were again the opponents in the UEFA EURO 2020 play-off semi-final, Clarke's side scoring all five of their penalties to win 5-4 after a goalless 120 minutes at Hampden Park.

• Penalties were also needed after Scotland's play-off final away to Serbia had finished 1-1, the home side cancelling out Ryan Christie's opener with a 90th-minute equaliser. Once again Scotland converted all five spot kicks, David Marshall saving Serbia's final penalty from Aleksandar Mitrović to book a finals place.

• The opening loss to the Czechs ended Scotland's five-match unbeaten run in EURO matches (W3 D2); they had lost the previous four.

• Scotland's record in England overall is W20 D13 L29. All but five of those matches have come against England (W18 D11 L28); at EURO '96, aside from their Matchday 2 defeat against the hosts, they drew 0-0 against the Netherlands and beat Switzerland 1-0, both at Villa Park in Birmingham.

• Scotland also defeated Wales 2-0 at Anfield in October 1977 to book their place at the following year's World Cup. More recently, they have played London friendlies against Brazil at the Arsenal Stadium in March 2011 (0-2) and Nigeria at Craven Cottage in May 2014 (2-2).

Links and trivia

• England manager Southgate was in the side that beat Scotland at Wembley at EURO '96.

• Scotland coach Clarke spent the bulk of his playing career in England with Chelsea, making 330 appearances for the London club between 1987 and 1998. He won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1997/98, the same season the Blues lifted the League Cup, after the previous campaign's FA Cup success.

• Clarke was Chelsea assistant manager between 2004 and 2008 and held similar roles at West Ham (2008–10) and Liverpool (2011/12) before taking charge of West Bromwich Albion in June 2012. He subsequently worked as Reading manager (2014–15) and Aston Villa assistant in 2016 before returning to Scotland to take over at Kilmarnock in October 2017.

• Have played in England:
David Marshall (Norwich 2007–09, Cardiff 2009–16, Hull 2016–19, Wigan 2019/20, Derby 2020–)
Craig Gordon (Sunderland 2007–12)
Jon McLaughlin (Bradford 2008–14, Burton 2014–17, Sunderland 2018–20)
Andy Robertson (Hull 2014–17, Liverpool 2017–)
Scott McKenna (Nottingham Forest 2020–)
Stephen O'Donnell (Luton 2015–17)
Kieran Tierney (Arsenal 2019–)
Liam Cooper (Hull 2008–12, Carlisle 2011 loan, Huddersfield 2011 loan, Chesterfield 2012–14, Leeds 2014–)
John McGinn (Aston Villa 2018–)
Callum McGregor (Notts County 2013/14 loan)
Stuart Armstrong (Southampton 2018–)
Scott McTominay (Manchester United 2002–)
Lyndon Dykes (Queens Park Rangers 2020–)
John Fleck (Blackpool 2012 loan, Coventry 2012–16, Sheffield United 2016–)
Ryan Fraser (Bournemouth 2013–20, Ipswich 2015/16 loan, Newcastle 2020–)
Ché Adams (Sheffield United 2014–16, Birmingham 2016–19, Southampton 2019–)
Billy Gilmour (Chelsea 2019–)
Jack Hendry (Wigan 2015–17, Shrewsbury 2016 loan, MK Dons 2016 loan)
Grant Hanley (Blackburn 2010–16, Newcastle 2016/17, Norwich 2017–)

• Scotland captain Robertson was part of the Liverpool side that won the UEFA Champions League in 2018/19 and went on to claim the Premier League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup the following season.

• Have played together:Marcus Rashford & Scott McTominay (Manchester United 2016–)
Harry Maguire & Scott McTominay (Manchester United 2019–)
Harry Maguire & Andy Robertson (Hull 2015–17)
Jordan Henderson & Andy Robertson (Liverpool 2017–)
Jack Grealish, Tyrone Mings & John McGinn (Aston Villa 2018–)
Reece James, Mason Mount & Billy Gilmour (Chelsea 2019–)
Ben Chilwell & Billy Gilmour (Chelsea 2020–)
Luke Shaw & Scott McTominay (Manchester United 2014–)
Jordan Henderson & Craig Gordon (Sunderland 2008–11)
Bukayo Saka & Kieran Tierney (Arsenal 2019–)
Kalvin Phillips & Liam Cooper (Leeds 2014–)
Aaron Ramsdale & Ryan Fraser (Bournemouth 2019/20)
Aaron Ramsdale & John Fleck (Sheffield United 2020–)

• Cooper (Kingston-upon-Hull), McTominay (Lancaster) and Adams (Leicester) were all born in England.

Latest news

England

• Raheem Sterling's winner against Croatia was his first tournament goal after drawing blanks in his 14 previous matches. He now has 15 goals in 62 internationals, including 13 in his last 17, and England have won all 11 matches in which he has scored.

• Jude Bellingham's appearance as a substitute against Croatia made him, at the age of 17 years and 349 days, the youngest player ever to appear at a EURO final tournament. The previous record had been set in 2012 by the Netherlands' Jetro Willems (18 years and 71 days).

• The win against Croatia was England's seventh in succession and third in a row by 1-0. They also won both of their UEFA EURO 2020 warm-up fixtures in Middlesbrough by that scoreline, against Austria and Romania. Bukayo Saka notched his maiden international goal to win the first game, and Marcus Rashford scored the penalty that decided the second, in which Jordan Henderson, seeking his first international goal on his 59th appearance, had a second spot kick saved.

• Ben White made his England debut as a substitute against Austria and was subsequently called up to the UEFA EURO 2020 squad to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold, injured late in the same game. Goalkeeper Sam Johnstone kept a clean sheet on his debut against Romania, when White made his first start.

• None of the seven players who featured in the 2021 UEFA Champions League final – Chelsea trio Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Mason Mount and Manchester City quartet Sterling, Phil Foden, John Stones and Kyle Walker – took part in either of the two Middlesbrough friendlies. Mount and the four City players were all in the starting XI against Croatia.

• In addition to those three European champions at Chelsea and four Premier League title winners at Manchester City, the three foreign-based players in Gareth Southgate's squad all picked up winner's medals in 2020/21, Kieran Trippier helping Atlético de Madrid to the Spanish Liga title and Jadon Sancho and Bellingham scooping the German DFB-Pokal with Borussia Dortmund.

• Sterling is the only member of England's UEFA EURO 2020 squad to have scored a goal at the EURO finals. He is among just six of the current players who were also involved at the 2016 tournament in France, the others being Henderson, Rashford, Stones, Walker and current captain Harry Kane.

• Kane, however, won the Golden Boot at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with six goals, where Stones also scored twice and Trippier once. Other survivors from Southgate's squad in Russia, where England finished fourth, are Henderson, Rashford, Sterling, Walker, Jordan Pickford and Harry Maguire, who also found the net during the tournament. Sterling and Henderson are two of three survivors from the 2014 World Cup, alongside Luke Shaw.

• Although he has yet to score in five games at the EURO finals, Kane's 15 goals in 13 qualifying appearances make him England's all-time second highest scorer in the competition behind Wayne Rooney (20).

• England have brought goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale into the squad to replace Dean Henderson, who had to withdraw with a hip injury.

Scotland

• Scotland's opening defeat by the Czech Republic was their first in six games (W2 D3) and only their third in the past 17, eight of which were won, plus another two decided in their favour on penalties.

• Steve Clarke's side played two warm-up games in early June, drawing 2-2 with the Netherlands in southern Portugal – a game that featured first international goals for defender Jack Hendry and striker Kevin Nisbet and debuts for David Turnbull and Billy Gilmour – and winning 1-0 away to Luxembourg, in which Ché Adams scored the winner and another first cap was awarded, to Nathan Patterson of Scottish champions Rangers.

• Scotland's squad is the least experienced at UEFA EURO 2020 with just 498 international caps shared between the 26 players and only one of them, 38-year-old goalkeeper Craig Gordon, with over 50 to his name. It is also the squad with the fewest international goals – a collective tally of just 36, with John McGinn, on ten, the lone player to have reached double figures.

• Although there was no international tournament experience in the squad coming into UEFA EURO 2020, ten of the 26 players operated in the English Premier League in 2020/21, including captain Andy Robertson, who started all 38 games for defending champions Liverpool, while Manchester United's Scott McTominay appeared in the UEFA Europa League final and Gilmour was a fringe member of Chelsea's UEFA Champions League-winning squad.

• The seven goals McGinn scored in the UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying campaign mean that he needs just one more to join Ally McCoist as Scotland's all-time EURO top scorer. McCoist is one of just four Scottish scorers at the EURO finals; none of them managed more than one goal.

• Kieran Tierney, who plays in London with Arsenal, missed Scotland's game against the Czech Republic with a minor, unspecified injury.