OVER 150 years have passed since the very first international match was played between Scotland and England. Tuesday night sees the two sides meet to commemorate the 150^th anniversary of the Scottish Football Association, with the visitors repaying the favour to Scotland who went down to Wembley for a similar event in 2013.

That match a decade ago was the first Auld Enemy clash since the Euro 2000 playoff second leg at Wembley in November 1999, which the Scots won 1-0 thanks to Don Hutchinson’s goal but went down 2-1 on aggregate, another glorious failure chapter being written. It remains Scotland’s last win over their main rivals having lost 3-2 in that 2013 fixture before being beaten 3-1 in a friendly at Celtic Park 15 months later and 3-0 at Wembley in 2016 in a World Cup qualifier.

Don Hutchison heads the winner in Scotland’s last win over England in 1999

You have to go back even further, 38 years in fact, for our last win over England at Hampden, courtesy of Richard Gough’s towering header in 1985 that saw us win the Rous Cup. We were so very close to ending that drought in 2017 in the return World Cup qualifier when Leigh Griffiths’ double free kicks threatened to lift the roof off Hampden, only for Harry Kane to quieten the Tartan Army to make it 2-2 deep into injury time.

There was also the delayed Euro 2020 meeting at Wembley just over two years ago, where both sides had chances in a goalless draw, which proved to be Scotland’s high point of the tournament whilst England went onto reach the Final. That game was played in front of a 25% capacity due to COVID restrictions, which feels like a lifetime ago thankfully.

So, it’s fair to say that we are long overdue a victory over the Auld Enemy with it being so long ago since Hutchison and Gough respectively secured our last two wins, with the ’99 game paling almost into insignificance due to the fact we, ultimately, didn’t progress to Euro 2000. There have been fleeting moments in the five meetings played in the past decade, such as taking the lead twice in 2013, Griffiths’ magic and Stephen O’Donnell’s excellent volley that Jordan Pickford did so well to prevent the much maligned right back becoming a national hero, but the 24 year wait for victory over England, and an additional 14 for the last Hampden win, goes on.

Leigh Griffiths second free kick at Hampden in 2017 that almost gave us a famous Auld Enemy victory

Ahead of Tuesday’s game, there is huge anticipation amongst the Tartan Army for this game and the dream combination of sending Gareth Southgate’s men homeward tae think again alongside the possibility of Euro 2024 qualification being secured that night if Norway and Georgia draw in Oslo. The latter is looking a less realistic prospect following the Georgians 7-1 capitulation in their own backyard against Spain, not great preparations for facing the world’s best striker in Erling Haaland, but there is every reason for the home support to believe that defeating England can happen.

The momentum within the camp is going at a pace that would give Lewis Hamilton a run for his money, and that’s all thanks to Steve Clarke. His man management skills are second to none and he has instilled belief in a group of players playing at a high level in club football that they can take on anyone, as emphasised in that win over Spain in March and the manner of the performance that left Champions League winner Rodri seeking excuses. We are no longer afraid in taking on the worlds best international teams or the worlds best players (Jack Hendry was one of the few defenders to marshall Haaland in that win in Oslo), and the mentality of “a draw will do” has also been ditched. With a comfortable win in Cyprus, a journey that would’ve filled previous Scotland teams with fear and trepidation, was another sign of how far the team has come and setting a record of five consecutive victories to begin a qualification campaign. Their tales are up and are not scared to take on anyone.

Yes, England are a top side and their recent record of World Cup fourth place in 2018, Euro 2020 finalists and World Cup 2022 quarter finalists shows that they too have a side not scarred by failures of previous campaigns (in their case, it’s usually AT major tournaments and not in failure to qualify unlike our 23 year hiatus). In Jude Bellingham, they arguably possess one of the worlds best midfielders, and his lightening start to life at Real Madrid supports this argument, whilst record goalscorer and captain Harry Kane has also started life in a new league very well after his summer transfer to Bayern Munich. According to Sky Bet, they are joint favourites alongside World Cup finalists France to win the Euros, which gives you an idea of their pedigree.

On the other hand, they are not unbeatable, and their relegation to Nations League B thanks largely to a 4-0 home humiliation to Hungary shows they can be got at on an off night. Let’s also not forget, Scotland bypassed England into promotion to League A giving us a rare gloating opportunity over our rivals. The other big question is how motivated will England be come Tuesday following their journey back from Poland after Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Ukraine? It could be argued that the game doesn’t mean the same to them, whereas Scotland will unquestionably be motivated to get that long elusive victory over the Auld Enemy in front of a sellout Hampden.

When asked by Russell Osbourne on the 3Lions Podcast previewing the game (Spotify link https://open.spotify.com/episode/1N5FDLZdqiXVhSW2e16ppH?si=3U2WWkggQqWtSFDT8SBIeA), I openly stated that I believe we could win the game. Often in the past, I’d be scared to say anything out loud in fear of jinxing our luck, but such is the confidence in the Scotland team right now I’m happy to face the slagging off from Russell and his fellow England fans should they once again leave Glasgow without defeat.

It’s the first game at Hampden since the sad passing of Craig Brown, the last Scotland manager to guide us to victory against England in 1999. Wouldn’t it be fitting if the class of 2023 could end that barren run and continue the feel good factor amongst our nation right now?