Anniversary friendly: Bellingham inspires England to victory

 

England eased to a 3-1 victory at Hampden Park as Scotland failed to hit the form that has taken them to the brink of Euro 2024 qualification.

There was an air of anticipation as the rivals met in a friendly to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first meeting but Scotland were a shadow of the team that had impressed in their last five matches as England took control.

Phil Foden diverted Kyle Walker’s cross into the net with Jude Bellingham firing in a second before the break after Andrew Robertson’s error.

Harry Maguire’s own goal gave Scotland some belief in the second half but Harry Kane’s lovely finish from a sublime Bellingham assist wrapped up the win for Gareth Southgate’s side.

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Lee Hendrie claimed it’s ‘game over’ after England scored their second goal against Scotland, leaving an unhappy Kris Boyd exclaiming he’s leaving if they score a third.

Scotland came into the match in peak form while England were looking to recover from their frustrating draw with Ukraine.

They last won this fixture in 1999, but hopes of another win looked faint from kick-off as they struggled to cope with their rivals’ dominance

Angus Gunn rushed out to punch Kieran Trippier’s ball clear early on before a last ditch challenge from Ryan Porteous denied Kane the opener

It was about continuity for Steve Clarke as he stuck with the same Scotland team that beat Cyprus 3-0 in Euro 2024 qualifying.

READ ALSO Scotland beat Cyprus to move to brink of Euro 2024 qualification

Lewis Dunk made his first competitive international start in place of Harry Maguire, lining up alongside Marc Guehi at centre-back.

Kalvin Phillips got his first start of the season in Glasgow, with Kieran Trippier, Phil Foden, Aaron Ramsdale and Marcus Rashford also coming in.