England vs Scotland – FIFA World Cup Qualifier – Preview

Posted on November 9, 2016 by Sreya

England vs Scotland – England host Scotland at the New Wembley stadium on 11th November, Friday on Matchday 4 of the UEFA nations’ Group F FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

England have seven points from their first three matches, leading the Group F standings. While their goalless draw at Slovenia last month was a cause of concern following their early exit from the 2016 European Championship, England are still favorite to automatically qualify for the World Cup in Russia.

Scotland have won, drawn and lost each of their fixtures so far and are fourth on the standings with four points, trailing Lithuania and Slovenia by one point.

Team News

Danny Drinkwater and Fraser Forster’s injuries mean Aaron Cresswell and Jordan Pickford have joined the England squad. Theo Walcott is a doubt because of personal reasons. Gareth Southgate is also likely to monitor Harry Kane’s status ahead of the crucial fixture, owing to the fact that the Tottenham centre-forward returned from a lengthy spell on the sidelines just this past weekend.

Andrew Robertson, Kieran Tierney and Alan Hutton are absent for Scotland, creating a selection problem at the full-back position. Steven Fletcher has been listed as a doubt, but Scott Brown is likely to feature.

“We’ve got to keep cool and keep focused. It isn’t like another game where, if you lose, it doesn’t matter and you don’t hear about it too much. We have to use the atmosphere to our advantage. We have to use all the positive energy and that passion to win the game.

There are going a lot of heated moments and tackles flying in, but we’ve got to keep cool and keep focused.”

– Harry Kane, England.

Contributor’s Pick

According to England vs Scotland H2H stats, England have won four of their last five matches against Scotland. The last time these two countries met in a competitive fixture was back in 1999 when England lost 1-0 to Scotland.

England are the favorites and are likely to win by a 2-1 scoreline.