England v Scotland Preview

Interest in the second leg of this traditional encounter rich in history and passion has dipped alarmingly since Scotland did the old flip flop on Saturday and lost two goals to an average England side.

The Scots now have to come to Wembley and get at least two goals to even force the game into extra time and a game that saw 1.3 million people chasing tickets when it was announced now seems to have a similar number trying to get away from it.

The England camp was delighted by the win on Saturday and made all the usual "still a job to do" noises at their training camp yesterday as the Scots seemed on the brink of collapse with makeshift strikers being called into tactical considerations and the Glasgow media all for firing coach Craig Brown.

Let us try then to make a case then for a game of some excitement tomorrow night.

England were very poor for most of Saturday's game and had all the luck going to get a two goal lead. Luck seemed to be all they had in a dire attacking display and the commodity has a distinct habit of running out.

Not enough ? Okay. The Scots have a team well able to play on the break at Wembley and were the better side particularly in an interesting first half display. Scholes proved to be the difference between the two sides suggesting midfield adjustments will need to be made by the visiting side tomorrow. When given no chance - cf Holland in Argentina 1978 - the Scots like to turn it on and can play well.

They have been completely written off after the first match - ideal for these natural underdogs - and the sad campaign against team coach Brown that started as soon as the game on Saturday ended will help to form a team spirit. It was not Brown who was wandering around the aisles at the new Hampden feeding his face during the game as England fans completely drowned out a feeble home support.

The players know when a scapegoat is being looked for and there is now a real threat to Brown's position if things go bad again tomorrow. They must also know that Michael Owen and Alan Shearer - the likely starters tomorrow as coach Keegan tries to keep an unchanged side - failed to land a single shot anywhere near the goal on Saturday and Shearer's performance was very grim considering that England had just 'outclassed' another team.

The keys to this game lie in English inconsistencies and Scottish determination to prove a point tomorrow night. History may also play a part. This will be the last competitive match to be played at the old Wembley before the rebuilding begins next year for a new super stadium beneath a lighted giant archway in 2003. Some team's Euro 2000 dreams will be demolished along with the ground after tomorrow night. It looks like Scotland sure enough but England have several points to prove tomorrow not least regarding their strange misshaped midfield and weak attack that the Scots can continue to dream a little bit longer.